Mark Kelly is in a difficult spot. Commanding the final Shuttle mission is a huge responsibility and the culmination of his career.
However, his wife (Gabrielle Giffords) needs him for support as she recovers from her shooting. Especially since it’s a brain injury. The doctors say patients respond better when loved ones are present.
I’m a little surprised Kelly hasn’t made the decision already. Leaving his wife now would be a PR disaster. I’m not sure he could return to earth without getting tarred and feathered.
I realize this is a family decision. I’m putting it in MPSIMS because it’s pretty mundane. The dude can do whatever he wants. He has to face Gabby whenever she recovers.
Another concern is the safety of the mission. Kelly has spent over a year training. Plus he has previous experience in space. Substituting a new commander at the last minute could be an issue. But, his place is still with his wife IMHO.
Personally I think they should set up a feed for her so he can videoconference into her hospital room and spend a couple hours chatting with her each day. She can watch him float around and know he’s doing what he loves and keeping the program on track(the amount of time and training invested in a shuttle commander is obscene). Any wife of an astronaut knows they’re very driven and focused people. The mission would be about two weeks. Here’s some mission info. They have a lot to do for the six man crew, and they’ve been training for years. Having a commander with four flights under his belt would be a huge asset to this team. If he had been diagnosed with cancer, but she needed to be at the capitol to handle an important committee assignment, would her place be at his side, or representing the constituents who elected her? It’s a tough call, but I think given the kind of driven people they both clearly are, I think choosing to go ahead with this mission would not damage their relationship. They largely lived apart(her in Arizona/DC and him in Houston) and still apparently maintained a good bond. It’s also three months away, so he’s got time to see how she’s doing and get things nicely stabilized.
I have no idea whether he’ll go or not. Judging whether or not he should go seems callous. He’s dealing with the pressures of a complex job and a family tragedy.
This isn’t necessarily a decision he’ll be making by himself. From all accounts, although she can’t speak, Gabrielle Giffords seems to have normal awareness of the world around her, recognizes her husband, and can communicate, although by gestures and body language. I’m sure they’ll discuss together whether he should stay by her side or command the space shuttle. It’s imperative to her recovery that he include her input in his decisions and not treat her as if she were a vegetable.
Seriously, if one could magically heal Giffords for a few minutes and ask her what she wants, I would put money on her telling him to go. He can speak with or to her by phone in the time leading up to the actual mission, and two weeks in space is nothing considering the length of time it is going to take her to fully recover.
Its not like he is just now beginning his training in the program. As a guess, this is probably his last mission.
I’m sure she’d want him to go, but if she can’t express that clearly, I suspect he’ll feel guiltily duty-bound to stay with her. Whatever he decides, there will be criticism, alas.
I don’t think it’s right for anyone to judge him for his choice or to say where his “place” is. If she wants him to go, then he should go. I know that if anything happened to me, and my hypothetical spouse had a major career opportunity, especially if it’s something like going into space which most people will never, ever do, I would definitely want him to go for it and not feel guilty about it. She’s got the rest of her family for support and she can keep in daily contact with him.
Either decision Kelly makes will be bittersweet. This won’t be Kelly’s first time in space. He’s flown on the shuttle three times before, the last time also as commander on board the Discovery, on STS-124 in 2008.
On the other hand, his twin brother Scott is also an astronaut, and is currently assigned as the commander of the International Space Station’s current mission. If Mark Kelly does fly on board the Endeavor, it will be the first time that two siblings have flown in space simultaneously.
I don’t think the Kellys are going to be in space together if Mark goes. It was originally scheduled to work out, but I believe that Scott comes back in March and Scott’s mission was delayed till April. (I follow both of them on Twitter and one of them shared the info last month.)
Ah, you’re right, the two missions won’t overlap. Still, twins can be confusing, can’t they? You obviously meant to say that Mark Kelly’s mission is delayed until April.
I am evidently not Gabrielle Gifford, but if my husband gave up an astronaut spot to come stand at my bedside when there’s nothing he can actually do to make me better medically speaking, I’d get better fast just so I could yell at him.
I imagine he’s got a better idea of what she’d want than anybody here, even if she wasn’t able to communicate.
Speaking as a guy , I would disagree. Unless there is some asteroid coming our way and my mission was tasked with taking it out, then it refers back to the old in sickness and health thing. My duty is beside her, regardless if she wants me there.
“OK, honey, if you jump up and down and scream, I’ll stay here with you. Otherwise, I’ll assume it’s all right with you that I go on this shuttle mission…”
Heh. Does it help to know that I was thinking the names correctly?
And, yeah, there’s the sickness/health thing, but…it’s the last shuttle mission and he’s the commander? I’d want my husband to make that trip too and let other family and friends fill in for the two weeks.
I respect your views and I do believe that’s admirable in a way, but I’d be PISSED if I told my husband to go and he said something like that, as if I’m incapable of knowing what’s best for me.
Several posters are wondering if Mark Kelly will decide to go on his next mission, when it isn’t his decision to make at all, it will be up to the mission doctors at NASA.
I not only think that it is extremely unlikely that he will be allowed to fly this next mission but I bet he is grounded permanently. The psychological stress from his wife’s shooting will be with him for many years. He won’t be allowed to command the last shuttle mission.
