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Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
, and
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
who has served as the
junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...
United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
since 2020. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, he was elected in the
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
held following the death of Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, defeating incumbent
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Martha McSally Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who served as a United States senator for Arizona from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the U.S. representative for ...
. Kelly flew combat missions during the
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
as a
naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
before being selected as a
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
pilot in 1996. He flew his first space mission in 2001 as pilot of
STS-108 STS-108 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle '' Endeavour''. Its primary objective was to deliver supplies to and help maintain the ISS. STS-108 was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the In ...
, piloted
STS-121 STS-121 was a 2006 NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by . The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the ''Columbia'' disaster of February 2003 as w ...
in 2006, and commanded
STS-124 STS-124 was a Space Shuttle mission, flown by Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' to the International Space Station. ''Discovery'' launched on 31 May 2008 at 17:02 EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of 25 May 2008, and landed safely at t ...
in 2008 and
STS-134 STS-134 ( ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International ...
in 2011, the final mission of
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
'' Endeavour''. His
identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
, Scott Kelly, is also a retired astronaut; they are the only siblings to have both traveled into orbit. Kelly's wife, then-
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
Congresswoman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...
, was shot and nearly killed in an assassination attempt on January 8, 2011. Six people died in the Tucson shooting. After the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
the following year, Giffords and Kelly founded the nonprofit
Americans for Responsible Solutions Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supports gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and pro ...
, later renamed
Giffords Giffords is an American advocacy and research organization focused on promoting gun control. The organization draws its name from of one of its co-founders, Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Gi ...
, which campaigns for
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
measures like
universal background checks Proposals for universal background checks would require almost all firearms transactions in the United States to be recorded and go through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), closing what is sometimes called the priv ...
and
red flag law In the United States, a red flag law is a gun violence prevention law that permits a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who they believe may present a danger to others or themselves. A judge makes the determina ...
s. Kelly announced his candidacy for Arizona's Class 3 U.S. Senate seat in the 2020 special election on February 12, 2019. He won the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020, and defeated incumbent Republican
Martha McSally Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who served as a United States senator for Arizona from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the U.S. representative for ...
in the November 3, 2020, general election, becoming the first Democrat to win this seat since
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
. Kelly was sworn in on December 2, 2020. In 2022, he was
elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
to a full term in office, defeating Republican challenger
Blake Masters Blake Gates Masters (born August 5, 1986) is an American venture capitalist and political candidate. Frequently referred to as a protégé of businessman Peter Thiel, Sources that call Masters a protégé of Thiel include: * * * * Masters c ...
.


Early life and education

Kelly and twin brother Scott Kelly are the sons of Richard and Patricia (''
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' McAvoy) Kelly, two retired police officers. He is of Irish descent. He was born on February 21, 1964, in
Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...
, and raised in
West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.
. Kelly graduated from Mountain High School in 1982. He received a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in
marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...
and nautical science from the
United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...
, graduating with highest honors in 1986. In 1994, he received a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
in
aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
from the U.S.
Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...
.


Naval career

In December 1987, Kelly became a
naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
and received initial training on the
A-6E Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 ...
attack aircraft. He was then assigned to Attack Squadron 115 ( VA-115) in
Atsugi is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 223,960 and a population density of 2400 persons per km². The total area of the city is . While the name "Atsugi" is often associated with the United ...
, Japan, and made two deployments to the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
on the aircraft carrier , flying 39 combat missions in
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
. After receiving his master's degree, Kelly attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School from 1993 to 1994. He has logged more than 5,000 hours in more than 50 different aircraft and has over 375 carrier landings. Kelly has received two
Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...
s; one
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
; two Distinguished Flying Crosses; four
Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...
s (two individual/two strike flight) with Combat "V"; two
Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...
s, (one with combat "V"); one
Navy Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious se ...
; two
Southwest Asia Service Medal The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members ...
s; one
Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...
; two
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a Un ...
s; a
NASA Distinguished Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...
; and an
Overseas Service Ribbon An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...
. On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced his retirement from the U.S. Navy and NASA, effective October 1, 2011. His retirement was announced on his
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page, where he wrote, "Words cannot convey my deep gratitude for the opportunities I have been given to serve our great nation. From the day I entered the United States Merchant Marine Academy in the summer of 1982 to the moment I landed the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' three weeks ago, it has been my privilege to advance the ideals that define the United States of America."


NASA career

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
selected both Mark and Scott Kelly to be Space Shuttle pilots in 1996. They joined the
NASA Astronaut Corps The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...
in August of that year. Mark Kelly has logged over 54 days in space. During his 2006 flight on Space Shuttle ''
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
'', the second mission after the loss of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', Kelly discussed the risks of flying the Space Shuttle:


Spaceflight experience


STS-108

Kelly's first trip into space was as pilot of STS-108. After several delays, ''Endeavour'' lifted off on December 5, 2001, on the final Shuttle mission of 2001. STS-108 ''Endeavour'' visited the ISS, delivering over three tons of equipment, supplies, and a fresh crew to the orbiting outpost. The hatches were opened between ''Endeavour'' and the ISS'' Destiny ''Laboratory on December 7, enabling the 10 crew members to greet one another. The
Expedition 3 Expedition 3 was the third expedition to the International Space Station. Commander Frank L. Culbertson Jr. was the only American crew member, and as such the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 attacks, which the crew photographed and vi ...
crew officially ended their 117-day residency on board the ISS on December 8 as their custom ''Soyuz'' seat-liners were transferred to ''Endeavour'' for the return trip home. The transfer of the
Expedition 4 Expedition 4 was the fourth expedition to the International Space Station (7 December 2001 - 15 June 2002). Crew Mission parameters *Perigee: 384 km *Apogee: 396 km *Inclination: 51.6° *Period: 92 min Mission objectives The Inte ...
seat-liners to the'' Soyuz ''return vehicle attached to the station marked the official exchange of crews. Kelly and Mission Specialist
Linda Godwin Linda Maxine Godwin Ph.D. (born July 2, 1952) is an American scientist and retired NASA astronaut. Godwin joined NASA in 1980 and became an astronaut in July 1986. She retired in 2010. During her career, Godwin completed four space flights and ...
used the shuttle's robotic arm to lift the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the shuttle payload bay and attach it to a berth on the station's Unity node. The crews began unloading supplies the same day. Mission managers extended ''Endeavour's'' flight duration to 12 days to allow the crew to assist with additional maintenance tasks on the station, including work on a treadmill and replacing a failed compressor in one of the air conditioners in the Zvezda Service Module. A change of command ceremony took place on December 13 as Expedition 3 ended and Expedition 4 began. STS-108 returned to Earth with the previous ISS crew of three men. Kelly traveled over 4.8 million miles and orbited the Earth 186 times over 11 days and 19+ hours.


STS-121

In July 2006, Kelly piloted STS-121 ''
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
'', the second "Return to Flight" mission following the loss of '' Columbia'' in February 2003. Because of weather delays, STS-121 became the first shuttle mission to launch on the
Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...
. The mission's main purposes were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced after the ''Columbia'' disaster and to deliver supplies, equipment, and
European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
(ESA) astronaut
Thomas Reiter Thomas Arthur Reiter (born 23 May 1958 in Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the ...
from Germany to the ISS. Reiter's transfer returned the ISS to a three-member staffing level. During the STS-121 mission to the ISS, the crew of ''Discovery'' continued to test new equipment and procedures for the inspection and repair of the thermal protection system that is designed to increase the shuttles' safety. It also delivered more supplies and cargo for future ISS expansion. After the ''Columbia'' accident, NASA decided that two test flights would be required and that activities originally assigned to
STS-114 STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' launched at 10:39 Eastern Time Zone, EDT (14:39 Coordinated ...
would need to be divided into two missions because of the addition of post-''Columbia'' safety tests.
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...
, Kelly's girlfriend at the time, picked one of the mission's wake-up songs, U2's "
Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, h ...
". Kelly traveled over 5.28 million miles and orbited the Earth 202 times over 12 days and 18+ hours.


STS-124

STS-124 ''Discovery'' was Kelly's first mission as commander. A month before liftoff, he discussed what being a shuttle commander entailed and how it was different from his previous missions: The mission was the second of three shuttle missions to carry components of Japan's Kibo laboratory to the ISS. ''Kibo'' is Japanese for "hope". The laboratory is Japan's primary contribution to the ISS. Just before liftoff, Kelly said, "While we've all prepared for this event today, the discoveries from Kibo will definitely offer hope for tomorrow. Now stand by for the greatest show on Earth." During the launch,
Launch Pad 39A Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is the first of Launch Complex 39's three launch pads, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. The pad, along with Launch Complex 39B, were first designed for the Saturn V launch vehicle. Ty ...
sustained substantial damage, more than had been seen on any previous launch. After liftoff, inspectors discovered that bricks and mortar from the launch pad's base had been thrown as far as the perimeter fence, a distance of 1,500 feet (457 m). Kelly and his crew delivered the pressurized module for Kibo to the ISS. The module is the Kibo laboratory's largest component and the station's largest habitable module. ''Discovery'' also delivered Kibo's Remote Manipulator System. It also delivered a replacement part for the station's toilet. The ISS's toilet had been malfunctioning for a week, creating a potentially serious problem for the crew. When Kelly first entered the station, he joked, "You looking for a plumber?" This mission was the first time a spouse of a member of Congress traveled to space. Kelly traveled over 5.7 million miles, and orbited the Earth 218 times over 13 days and 18 hours.


STS-134

STS-134 launched on May 16, 2011. On April 29, 2011, the first launch attempt of STS-134 was scrubbed. Giffords traveled to Florida on her first trip since moving from
Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
to
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
in January after an attempted assassination. Her appearance at Kennedy Space Center gave the launch a high profile, "one of the most anticipated in years," according to ''The New York Times''.
President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
visited the Kennedy Space Center on April 29 on a trip with the original intention of watching the ''Endeavour'' launch. Kelly was the commander of the mission which was Space Shuttle ''Endeavour's'' last. His crew and he delivered the
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a particle physics experiment module that is mounted on the International Space Station (ISS).Kristine Rainey (April 2, 2013)Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS): How It Works NASA. Retrieved June 2, 20 ...
to the ISS. Most of the mission's delays were caused by
external tank The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) was the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contained the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplied the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the ...
issues on
STS-133 STS-133 ( ISS assembly flight ULF5) was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' docked with the International Space Station. It was ''Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission l ...
''Discovery''. When Scott Kelly went to the ISS on October 7, 2010, STS-134 was scheduled to go to the station during his mission. The potential rendezvous in space of the Kelly brothers would have been a first meeting of blood relatives in space. The delay of STS-134's launch ended that possibility. After his wife's shooting, Kelly's status was unclear, but NASA announced on February 4, 2011, that he would remain commander of the mission. The remarkable progress his wife was making in her recovery helped Kelly decide to return to training.
Peggy Whitson Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, retired NASA astronaut, and former NASA Chief Astronaut. Whitson has a total of 665 days in space, more than any other woman or American. Her first space mi ...
, chief of the NASA Astronaut Office at the time, said, "we are confident in his ability to successfully lead this mission, and I know I speak for all of NASA in saying 'welcome back.'"


Papal blessing

At 4 pm PDT on May 22, 2011, the
European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
and
Italian Space Agency The Italian Space Agency ( it, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entit ...
arranged for a call to ''Endeavour'' by
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
. During his call—prompted by the discovery of a gash in the Shuttle's fuselage—Benedict extended his blessing to Giffords, who had undergone skull surgery earlier in the week. The event marked the first time a pope spoke to astronauts during a mission.


U2

On June 24, 2011, a recorded message by Kelly from the ISS wished his wife love using song lyrics from
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's "
Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...
" and introduced U2's song "
Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, h ...
" on the first night of the
Glastonbury festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
in England. A similar message from Kelly aboard the ISS was played during U2's 360° Tour concert stop at various locations. It said: "I'm looking forward to coming home. Tell my wife I love her very much. She knows."


Retirement from NASA

On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced that he would leave NASA's astronaut corps and the U.S. Navy effective October 1. He cited Giffords's needs during her recovery as a reason for his retirement.


Post-NASA career


Author

In 2011, Kelly and Giffords coauthored ''Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience''. The book provides biographical information on the couple and describes in detail the assassination attempt on Giffords and her initial recovery. Written in Kelly's voice, it includes a short note by Giffords at the end. Kelly's second book, ''Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story'' (2012), is a children's book illustrated by C. F. Payne. It was a ''New York Times'' number one bestseller and was followed the next year by a sequel, ''Mousetronaut Goes to Mars''. In 2014, Giffords and Kelly coauthored ''Enough: Our Fight to Keep America Safe from Gun Violence''. In 2015, Kelly and Martha Freeman cowrote ''Astrotwins: Project Blastoff,'' a fictional story about twins Scott and Mark who build a space capsule in their grandfather's backyard and try to send the first kid into orbit. Kelly dedicated this book to Scott Kelly. The sequel, ''Astrotwins—Project Rescue'', was published in 2016.


Aerospace work

Kelly is co-founder and strategic advisor of Tucson-based near-space exploration company
World View Enterprises World View Enterprises, Inc., doing business as World View, is a private American near space exploration and technology company headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, founded with the goal of increasing access to and the utilization of the stratosphere ...
. On March 28, 2012,
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...
announced that Kelly would be part of an independent safety advisory panel composed of leading human spaceflight safety experts.


Political activism

In January 2013, Kelly and Giffords started a political action committee,
Americans for Responsible Solutions Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supports gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and pro ...
. The organization's mission is to promote solutions to gun violence with elected officials and the general public. The couple say it supports the Second Amendment while promoting responsible gun ownership and "keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people like criminals, terrorists, and the mentally ill." The group claims that "current gun laws allow private sellers to sell guns without a background check, creating a loophole that provides criminals and the mentally ill easy access to guns". On March 31, 2013, Kelly said, "any bill that does not include a
universal background check Proposals for universal background checks would require almost all firearms transactions in the United States to be recorded and go through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), closing what is sometimes called the privat ...
is a mistake. It's the most common-sense thing we can do to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from having access to weapons." In 2016, Americans for Responsible Solutions joined the
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, previously known as the Legal Community Against Violence and the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, is a national public interest law center and nonprofit organization that promotes gun safety legis ...
and launched a joint organization known as "Giffords".


U.S. Senate


Elections


2020 special

On February 12, 2019, Kelly announced that he would run as a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
in the
2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona The 2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona was held on November 3, 2020. Following the death in office of incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John McCain on August 25, 2018, Governor Doug Ducey was required by Arizona law to app ...
. Kelly looked to unseat incumbent Republican
Martha McSally Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who served as a United States senator for Arizona from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the U.S. representative for ...
, a fellow veteran who was appointed to the position shortly after losing the 2018 Senate
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
to Democrat
Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema (; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician and former social worker serving as the senior United States senator from Arizona since January 2019. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent in ...
. The seat was vacated upon
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
's death on August 25, 2018, and held by Governor
Doug Ducey Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a c ...
's appointee
Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013 and again in 2018. A Republican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, ser ...
until Kyl resigned on December 31, 2018. Kelly declined to accept campaign contributions from corporate political action committees (PACs), but did accept thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from corporate executives and lobbyists. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
called the race for Kelly on November 4, 2020. His election marks the first time since 1953 that Arizona has had two Democratic senators. As the election was a special election, Kelly took office during the
116th Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on Janua ...
, shortly after Arizona certified its election results on November 30, unlike other senators and representatives elected in 2020, who took office at the opening of the
117th Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...
on January 3, 2021. Kelly was sworn in at noon on December 2. His initial term ends in 2023, whereupon his first six-year term will begin after winning the 2022 Senate election. Kelly is the fourth retired astronaut to be elected to Congress, after
John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...
,
Harrison Schmitt Harrison Hagan Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico, and the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military aviation ...
, and
Jack Swigert John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of Apollo ...
.


2022

Kelly won reelection in the November 2022 general election, defeating Republican challenger
Blake Masters Blake Gates Masters (born August 5, 1986) is an American venture capitalist and political candidate. Frequently referred to as a protégé of businessman Peter Thiel, Sources that call Masters a protégé of Thiel include: * * * * Masters c ...
.


Tenure

On December 2, 2020, Kelly cast his first Senate vote, a "no" vote on the nomination of
Kathryn C. Davis Kathryn Celia Davis (born 1978) is an American lawyer who serves as a Federal tribunals in the United States#Article I tribunals, judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Education Davis earned a Bachelor of Science from Boston Un ...
to the
United States Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the U.S. government. It was established by statute in 1982 as the United States Claims Court, ...
. On December 9, Kelly voted "no" on a resolution blocking
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
from selling $23 billion in drones to the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. Kelly split his vote by voting yes on another resolution blocking
F-35 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
sales to the UAE. Both resolutions failed. In the wake of the
2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...
, Kelly expressed support for
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
and Trump's cabinet invoking the
Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...
to remove Trump from office. He voted to convict in Trump's second impeachment trial, along with 56 other senators.


Committee assignments

* Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Airland ** Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities (Chairman) *
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...
** Subcommittee on National Parks ** Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining ** Subcommittee on Water and Power *
Committee on Environment and Public Works The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for legislation and oversight of the natural and built environment and for studying matters concerning environmental protection and resource conservation and utili ...
** Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight ** Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife ** Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure * Special Committee on Aging *
Joint Economic Committee The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is one of four standing joint committees of the U.S. Congress. The committee was established as a part of the Employment Act of 1946, which deemed the committee responsible for reporting the current economic co ...


Political positions

Kelly ran as a moderate in 2020 and voiced support for
bipartisanship Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find c ...
. Since joining the Senate, he supported abolishing the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation and a federal minimum wage increase to $15 per hour. He has criticized Joe Biden's approach to border security. As of October 2022, Kelly has voted in line with Biden's stated position 94.5% of the time.


Abortion

As a candidate in 2020, Kelly said he was "
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
" and was endorsed by
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
. He supports codifying ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'' into federal law. He has said that late-stage abortions should be legally protected.


Climate and environment

Kelly has voiced support for climate action, but does not support the
Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...
. The
League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
gave him a 97% score in 2021. In 2022, Kelly also advocated for an expansion of oil drilling in the wake of rising gas prices.


Guns

Kelly became an outspoken advocate for gun control following the attempted assassination of his wife, former U.S. Representative
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...
, at the
2011 Tucson shooting On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including feder ...
. Kelly voted for the bipartisan gun bill in response to the
Robb Elementary School shooting On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen other ...
in
Uvalde, Texas Uvalde is a city and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, west of downtown San Antonio and east of the Mexico–United States bord ...
.


Health care

Kelly supports building on the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
to include a
public health insurance option The public health insurance option, also known as the public insurance option or the public option, is a proposal to create a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private health insurance companies within the United ...
.


Immigration

Of the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...
(DACA) program, Kelly has said, "Dreamers are as American as anyone", and has expressed support for it.


Trump administration

In February 2021, Kelly voted to convict Trump for incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial, and has been outspoken in his disdain for him.


Personal life

Kelly married Amelia Victoria Babis on January 7, 1989. They divorced in 2004. They have two daughters, Claudia and Claire Kelly. Kelly married U.S. Representative
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...
of
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
, on November 10, 2007, in a ceremony presided over by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, and attended by his STS-124 shuttle crew and former
Secretary of Labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...
Robert Reich Robert Bernard Reich (; born June 24, 1946) is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He worked in the administrations of President of the United States, Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and served as United S ...
. Reich toasted: "To a bride who moves at a velocity that exceeds that of anyone else in Washington, and a groom who moves at a velocity that exceeds 17,000 miles per hour." The couple met on a 2003 trip to China as part of a trade mission sponsored by the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations. At the time of their marriage, Kelly lived in Houston, Texas, and said that the longest stretch of time the two had spent together was a couple of weeks. He said that they did not plan to always live that way, but that it was what they were used to. He added, "It teaches you not to sweat the small stuff."


Shooting in Tucson

Giffords was shot in an assassination attempt on January 8, 2011, putting Kelly in the national spotlight. On February 4, Kelly described the previous month as the hardest time of his life and expressed his gratitude for the enormous outpouring of support, good wishes and prayers for his wife. He said that he believed people's prayers for her helped. One of Giffords's aides informed Kelly of the shooting almost immediately after it happened. He flew from Houston to Tucson with members of his family. En route, the Kellys received an erroneous news report that Giffords had died. "The kids, Claudia and Claire, started crying. My mother, she almost screamed. I just walked into the bathroom, and, you know, broke down." Calling family in Tucson, Kelly found out that the report was false and that she was alive and in surgery. "It was a terrible mistake," Kelly said. "As bad as it was that she had died, it's equally exciting that she hadn't." From the time he arrived in Tucson, Kelly sat vigil at his wife's bedside as she struggled to survive and began to recover. As her condition began to improve, the Kelly-Giffords family researched options for rehabilitation facilities and chose one in Houston. On January 21, Giffords was transferred to the
Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center is a nationally ranked hospital at the Texas Medical Center. It is the first hospital founded in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas (and its founding predates the Texas Medical Center). Founded in 19 ...
, where she spent five days before moving to TIRR Memorial Hermann, where she continued her recovery and rehabilitation. Giffords and Kelly had spoken dozens of times about how risky her job was. She was afraid that someone with a gun would come up to her at a public event. In an interview filmed just over a week after the shooting, Kelly said, "She has
Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew si ...
, in her district, the town that's too tough to die. Gabrielle Giffords is too tough to let this beat her."


Aftermath

A memorial service for those killed in the assassination attempt was held on January 12, 2011, at the University of Arizona. President Obama flew to Tucson to speak at the memorial. Kelly sat between First Lady
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
and Secretary of Homeland Security
Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...
, the former governor of Arizona. At the end of the service, Obama consoled and embraced him, after which Kelly returned to the hospital to be with his wife. Kelly spoke on February 3, 2011, at the
National Prayer Breakfast The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has t ...
in Washington, DC. His remarks closed the event, where Obama also spoke. Kelly said the attack on his wife brought him closer to God and gave him a newfound awareness regarding prayer. He said that before the attack, "I thought the world just spins and the clock just ticks and things happen for no particular reason", but that, in Tucson, as he found himself wandering in makeshift memorials and shrines filled with Bibles and angels, "You pray where you are. You pray when God is there in your heart." Kelly offered the final prayer of the morning. The prayer was from Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, who married Kelly and Giffords, and who said the same words over Giffords on the night of the shooting: In 2011, Kelly said he believed there was a chance to change a political environment he believed was too vitriolic. He hoped that the tragedy would be an opportunity to improve the tone of the national dialogue and cool down the rhetoric. In response to a question on February 4, 2011, about civility in politics, Kelly said, "I haven't spent a lot of time following that, but I think that with something that was so horrible and so negative, and the fact that six people lost their lives including a nine-year-old girl, a federal judge, Gabby's staff member Gabe—who was like a younger brother to her—it's really, really a sad situation. I am hopeful that something positive can come out of it. I think that will happen, so those are good things."


Electoral history


Awards and decorations

Kelly's awards and decorations include:


References


Further reading


Interview with ''Discovery'' crew
July 11, 2006

May 31, 2008, includes link to video of launch
Statement from Mark Kelly
January 10, 2011, Kelly's first public statement after the shooting of his wife
Kelly's Interview with Diane Sawyer
January 2011, ABC News video
Kelly's remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast
February 3, 2011, CBS News video.
Kelly to Fly on Shuttle Mission
February 4, 2011, NASA Press Conference with Mark Kelly, Peggy Whitson and
Brent Jett Brent Ward Jett Jr. (born October 5, 1958), ( Capt, USN, Ret.), is a retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace and aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut. Personal life Jett was born in Pontiac, Michigan, but conside ...
, NASA TV


External links


Senator Mark Kelly
official U.S. Senate website
Mark Kelly for U.S. Senate
campaign website * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Mark Edward 1964 births 21st-century American non-fiction writers American astronaut-politicians American gun control activists 20th-century American memoirists American people of Irish descent American test pilots Arizona Democrats Democratic Party United States senators from Arizona Gabby Giffords Identical twins Living people Military personnel from New Jersey Naval Postgraduate School alumni People from West Orange, New Jersey Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts Spouses of Arizona politicians American twins United States Merchant Marine Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni United States Navy astronauts United States Navy captains United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War West Orange High School (New Jersey) alumni Writers from New Jersey