Every time they passed a replica of astronaut Sally Ride's flight suit on their visits to NASA or Space Center Houston, Calvin Dale Smith would laugh, his wife recalled. She told NASA investigators her husband would comment that he knew where Ride's original flight suit was, but he always remained very secretive about it.

Smith, 56, of Houston, is now in federal custody after being accused of stealing the original flight suit used by Ride, the first American woman to travel into space, court records show.

Smith, of the 1600 block of Richvale Lane, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on suspicion of theft of government property. He is accused of receiving, concealing and keeping nearly $10,000 in property belonging to the U.S. government, including the NASA flight suit, an Omega watch used on two shuttle flights and machine parts used in NASA's space program.

The former United Space Alliance employee has pleaded not guilty. He was arraigned in a Houston federal courtroom Thursday.

Smith's federal public defender, Margy Meyers, declined to comment Friday. The NASA Inspector General's Office at Johnson Space Center, which investigated the case, also declined to comment.

Federal court records show Smith's wife was once employed by Boeing's Flight Group Processing Office, which handled the maintenance of NASA astronauts' flight suits. United Space Alliance LLC took over NASA's contract with Boeing.

Wife found suitcase

While Smith was in the Harris County Jail last year on a charge of domestic violence involving a firearm, his wife discovered a suitcase at their home containing a NASA flight suit with Ride's name on it, as well as a blue flight jacket made of similar material, a criminal complaint shows.

Smith's wife made the discovery when she received a list from his mother requesting some of Smith's property since he was about to be released from jail. One of those items was a suitcase. When Smith's wife asked his mother about it, Smith's mother responded, “You know, the suitcase,” court records stated.

NASA investigators recovered the flight suit when they searched the couple's home with the consent of Smith's wife. She called investigators again several weeks later to report she had found more NASA property.

Investigators returned to the home and collected an Omega watch and various machine parts, including an ERCM safety tether assembly and three airlock parts.

An expert in space flight-related memorabilia and artifacts told investigators the flight suit appeared to be authentic and estimated its worth to be between $2,500 and $3,500.

Smith has convictions in Harris County for misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor assault of a family member, court records show. He received deferred adjudication after being charged with making a terroristic threat. A charge of violating a protective order is still pending against him.

If convicted of stealing the flight suit and other government property, Smith faces up to 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

peggy.ohare@chron.com