[Vision2020] NASA Names Backup for Gabrielle Giffords' Husband on Shuttle

[Ted Moffett]

If this information has already been posted to Vision2020, please
excuse the redundancy.  I just discovered that Giffords' husband is a
NASA shuttle commander, a rather amazing fact:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-bc-us--congresswomanshot-astronaut,0,3069030.story

SETH BORENSTEIN

AP Science Writer

January 13, 2011, 3:59 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA announced a backup shuttle commander Thursday
in case they need to replace the astronaut-husband of Rep. Gabrielle
Giffords, who was wounded in a mass shooting last weekend.

Officially, Capt. Mark Kelly, who is Giffords' husband of more than
three years, is still the commander for the final scheduled flight of
the space shuttle program, NASA said. The shuttle Endeavour is
scheduled to launch on April 19 on a trip to the International Space
Station.

Kelly was named commander in 2009 and has been in training for 17
months. Being chosen to lead the last shuttle flight is a big honor,
NASA spokesman Michael Curie said.

Just in case Kelly can't fly as his wife recovers from a gunshot to
the head, his spot will be taken by veteran shuttle commander Rick
Sturckow who is the agency's deputy chief astronaut.

The Arizona congresswoman remains in critical condition in a Tucson hospital.

Kelly said in a statement released by NASA that he recommended to the
space agency that they "take steps now to prepare to complete the
mission in my absence if necessary."

"I am very hopeful that I will be in a position to rejoin my
(Endeavour) crew members to finish our training," Kelly said in the
statement.

As far as NASA is concerned, "Mark is still the commander," chief
astronaut Peggy Whitson said. "He is facing many uncertainties now as
he supports Gabrielle, and our goal is to allow him to keep his
undistracted attention on his family while allowing preparations for
the mission to progress."

Curie said NASA hasn't yet determined when exactly it needs to make a
decision on whether Kelly, a three-time shuttle flier, will be able to
command the mission. But he said naming a backup commander buys some
time.

Space shuttle crews usually spend well more than a year training for
the intricate duties of a particular mission. Endeavour's 14-day
mission would resupply the space station and install a $1.5 billion
physics experiment.

The shooting of Giffords put NASA in an uncomfortable position about
what to do with the April flight, said American University professor
Howard McCurdy, who has written several books about the space program.
Removing Kelly from a prestigious job would look like punishing him
because of the assassination attempt, but he will be busy helping his
wife recover and could be distracted if he flies.

He called Thursday's move "a realistic, carefully thought out compromise."

___

Online:

Shuttle Endeavour's mission:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett