Mark E. Kelly
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| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | February 21, 1964 Orange, New Jersey |
| Occupation1 | Test Pilot |
| Rank | Commander, USN |
| Space time | 24d 14h 12m |
| Selection | 1996 NASA Group |
| Mission(s) | STS-108, STS-121 |
| Mission insignia |   |
| 1 previous or current | |
Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964 in Orange, New Jersey) is an American astronaut. He first went into space as the pilot for STS-108 Endeavour (December 5–17, 2001), and returned to space with STS-121 in 2006 as the pilot. His twin brother, Scott J. Kelly, is also in the Astronaut Corps.
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[edit] Early life and education
Born in Orange, New Jersey, Kelly was raised in West Orange, where he graduated from high school in 1982. He then received a B.S. degree in marine engineering and nautical science from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, graduating with highest honors in 1986. In 1994, he received an M.S. degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
[edit] Naval career
Kelly became a naval aviator in December 1987, and received initial training on the A-6E Aircraft. He was then assigned to VA-115 in Atsugi, Japan and made two deployments to the Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier USS Midway, the second of which he flew 39 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. After receiving his master's degree he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in June 1993. He has logged more than 4,500 hours in more than 50 different aircraft, and has over 375 carrier landings.
[edit] NASA career
Kelly was selected to be an astronaut in 1996 (along with his twin brother Scott Kelly) and joined the astronaut corps in August of that year. He is qualified as a pilot and flew 12 days in space on STS-108 in 2001, which visited the International Space Station, performed a space walk, and delivered over 3 tons of equipment and supplies. During his time in space he travelled over 4.8 million miles and orbited the Earth 185 times. He returned to space on STS-121 on July 4, 2006. In March 2007, he was selected as Mission Commander for STS-124.
[edit] Personal
Kelly is divorced from the former Amelia Victoria Babis (with whom he had two children) [1] and is now engaged to Gabrielle Giffords, a politician from Arizona who is the congresswoman from Arizona's 8th congressional district.
