Sun, Jul 05, 2009
 Bring in the garbage can, Commander Mark Kelly reminded his wife, Rep. Giffords. NASA
Tucson Urban League CEO/President Sales and Marketing Everready Glass Sales Reps Health Care Sierra Tucson Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Administrative & Professional Jorgensen Brooks Group Counselor Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Health Care CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Health Care Dependable Health Services Physical Therapists Tucson RegionGiffords watches hubby blast into space (with video)arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.01.2008
Surrounded by family, gripping her mother-in-law's hand, Southern Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords watched her husband, Mark Kelly, blast into orbit Saturday as commander of the space shuttle Discovery.
The launch went off without a hitch, as video showed the shuttle streaking across the clear sky.
"It was unbelievable. It was very exciting. Big blue sky," Giffords said. "I had my parents on either side of me, and I had Mark's mom in front of me, and I was holding hands with Mark's mom."
It should take two days for Discovery and its seven-member crew to reach the international space station, where it will deliver a massive Japanese lab.
The school-bus-size lab, named Kibo, Japanese for hope, will be the biggest room by far at the space station and will bring the orbiting outpost to three-quarters of completion.
The mission should take about two weeks.
Giffords has been in Florida since Tuesday, spending time with her husband and family, attending various dinners and banquets and taking day trips with families of the other astronauts.
And although Giffords is in the midst of a re-election campaign, and will probably face Republican state Senate President Tim Bee in the fall, the couple didn't talk much about politics.
"I try not to involve him in anything that is going on here," she said. "I believe my role is to support him and his family. I'm here to see him launch and to be a support crew. I try to understand what he is going through to be supportive, to see if he needs anything."
Before the launch, Giffords said she and Kelly briefly talked from the heart, but in the end, the conversation took a more pragmatic turn.
"We told each other how much we loved each other," she said. "And then he asked to make sure that I had his garbage can brought in from the street."
Well, if that doesn't bring you back down to Earth, it's hard to imagine what would.
While Kelly remains high above Earth in orbit, Giffords will return to Capitol Hill and then the campaign trail. The two might talk Monday via satellite phone, and they can stay in touch via e-mail.
Kelly, though, will be busy with the main mission of delivering and installing the lab to the station.
Any downtime might be taken up with the pesky side- project of fixing a pump for the main toilet on the space station.
For the last two weeks, the pump has been broken, and Discovery is delivering a replacement part.
"He apologized in advance for not sending long elaborate e-mails," Giffords said.
"I'm looking forward to him coming home."
● The Associated Press contributed to this report. ● Contact reporter Josh Brodesky at 807-7789 or jbrodesky@azstarnet.com.
|
|
29 Comments on this story