Saturday, February 5, 2011

Giffords's husband back in space

WASHINGTON - The recall of the space is too strong. So, astronaut Mark Kelly will return to fly, more comfortable because the conditions of his wife, as he said himself, "improving day by day." His wife Gabrielle Giffords, Member of the Arizona seriously wounded by a bullet that has reached the head of 8 shooting in January in Tucson.

Now, is in a rehabilitation center. While her husband, astronaut, April 19 will board the shuttle to drive the last mission of space shuttle Endeavour, which will go on even Italian Roberto Vittori. "The conditions of my wife's improving day by day - he stresses - neurosurgeons and neurologists who follow me say it is a good sign, the speed of progress is very important." For this reason, he decided: "I can not wait to rejoin my crew of STS-134.

We have prepared over 18 months. I thank NASA for the trust you have shown towards me." After being a month next to his wife, Captain Kelly has decided that his life can resume its course. And his life is the International Space Station, on which is in orbit for months along with his twin brother Scott Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli.

NASA had already planned for some time that the STS-134 mission to the ISS would be operated by him. Kelly boasts a very respectable: it has already been three times aboard the shuttle (STS-108 missions STS-121 as a pilot in the STS-124 as commander), and that of 19 April will be his last space avventra to the ISS.

After the massacre of Tucson, however, in agreement with Kelly NASA had put on standby: to stand beside his wife had stopped training and called for a period of time to decide. For this reason, NASA had begun training as a possible astronaut Rick Sturckow reserve. The STS-134 mission to the ISS is particularly significant, because it also coincides with the last flight of Endeavour.

In some way closes a cycle of the history of NASA, even if not yet the last shuttle flight. That is currently scheduled for June 28, when off from Cape Canaveral will be the shuttle Atlantis, which will lead to the space station Raffaello multipurpose logistics module. In the meantime, NASA has already begun the countdown for the next mission, STS-133, which will launch next February 24 in the space for the last time the shuttle Discovery.

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