Mark Edward Kelly ( born Mark Edward Kelly ; born February 21, 1964 , Orange, New Jersey ) is an American astronaut . Kelly has a twin brother, Scott Kelly , who is also a member of the astronaut squad.
| Mark Edward Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Mark edward kelly | |
 Mark Kelly | |
| A country |  USA |
| Specialty | spaceship pilot |
| Military rank | USN 1st Captain |
| Expeditions | STS-108 , STS-121 , STS-124 , STS-134 |
| Date of Birth | February 21, 1964 (55 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Orange , New Jersey |
| Awards | |
Content
Education
Mark Kelly graduated from high school in 1982 in West Orange, New Jersey. In 1986, Kelly graduated with honors from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and earned a bachelor 's degree in marine engineering and navigation. The United States Merchant Fleet Academy is one of five US military academies that prepares merchant fleet specialists located in Kings Point , New York . Kelly studied shipbuilding , maritime transport, navigation and the law of the sea. Kelly received his master 's degree in 1994 after graduating from the US Naval Postgraduate School.
Sea Pilot Career
In 1987, Kelly underwent flight training on the A-6 Intruder attack aircraft and became a marine pilot . Kelly served in the Midway aircraft carrier in Japan . In 1989, the Midway aircraft carrier sailed to the Persian Gulf , where it guarded oil tankers . In 1991, the aircraft carrier participated in the military operation "Desert Storm" , Kelly performed 39 sorties.
Kelly has over 3,500 flight hours on planes of over 40 types, and has made over 375 landings on an aircraft carrier.
Astronaut Career
Kelly, along with his twin brother Scott Kelly, was selected to the astronaut training group in May 1996. Since August 1996, Kelly underwent two-year space training. In the fall of 1998, Kelly became a shuttle pilot. The first space flight as a pilot of the shuttle Endeavor STS-108 , Kelly made in 2001 . The flight lasted 12 days. The second flight Kelly made in July 2006 on the shuttle "Discovery" STS-121 .
Mark Kelly made the third flight as the crew commander of the Atlantis shuttle STS-124 , which in spring 2008 delivered the second part of the Japanese Kibo module to the ISS .
Appointed commander of the final flight of the shuttle Endeavor STS-134 . Initially, it was assumed that in February 2011 Mark would meet on the ISS his twin brother Scott, who flew to the ISS on October 8, 2010 on the Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft . Due to the fact that the start of Endeavor STS-134 was postponed to April 29, 2011, and Scott returned to Earth on March 16, 2011, the brothers did not meet in orbit. The flight took place from May 16 to June 1, 2011 [1] .
In total, Mark Kelly spent 54 days 1 hour 2 minutes (1297 hours 2 minutes) in space over four space flights.
Family
From 1989 to 2004 he was married to Amelia Babis (Amelia Victoria Babis) , from this marriage they have two daughters.
On October 7, 2007, he married a member of the US House of Representatives, Gabriel Giffords , who was injured on January 8, 2011, as a result of an attempt on her in Tucson's hometown. In connection with this incident, there were doubts about Mark Kelly's ability to lead the STS-134, but his status was later confirmed.
During Kelly's stay in space, Gabrielle Giffords underwent a major surgical operation. In this regard, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency agreed on negotiations between Pope Benedict XVI and the ISS astronauts. May 21, 2011 Dad first spoke with astronauts in space [2] [3] .
After space travel
On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced his intention to leave the NASA astronaut corps and the US Navy in connection with the need to help his wife recover from injury.
In January 2013, Kelly and Giffords formed a political action committee called “Americans for Responsible Decisions.” The organization’s mission was to promote decisions among elected officials and the general public. Kelly and Giffords said they support the Second Amendment to the Constitution, advocating responsible ownership of weapons and "preventing weapons in the hands of dangerous people, such as criminals, terrorists and the mentally ill." [4]
The Americans for Responsible Decisions in 2016 teamed up with the Armed Forces Prevention Legal Center to form what is now known as Giffords. [5]
In March 2012, SpaceX announced the participation of Kelly as part of an independent advisory group of experts on space flight safety [6] .
Notes
- ↑ The shuttle went to the ISS to search for dark matter , Lenta.ru (05.16.2011). Date of treatment June 13, 2011.
- ↑ Pope blesses Endeavor astronauts by phone (English) , San Francisco Chronicle (March 22, 2011). Date of treatment May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Talk of His Holiness Benedict XVI with the Astronauts in Orbit . The Vatican (May 21, 2011). Date of treatment August 4, 2018.
- ↑ Criminal Background Checks ( Americans ) , Americans for Responsible Solutions (April 3, 2013). Archived February 18, 2013. Date of treatment April 3, 2013.
- ↑ About Giffords: History . Giffords. Date of treatment August 6, 2018.
- ↑ spacexcmsadmin. SpaceX Announces Independent Safety Advisory Panel for Commercial Crew spacex.com . SpaceX (March 29, 2012). Date of treatment February 28, 2019.