The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords could affect timing of shuttle mission
The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords could affect timing of shuttle missionThe ripples of the shooting rampage that left six dead and 14 wounded has shaken the NASA community and could unsettle the agency's final space shuttle mission set to launch April 1.
Mark Kelly, the astronaut slated to command the final mission of shuttle Endeavour, is the husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who remained in critical condition yesterday after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head on Saturday.
Kelly has been participating in a rigorous training schedule leading up to his role as commander of the shuttle mission. He is currently in Arizona with his family, and it was not clear if he would return to training.
Kelly's twin brother, Scott, is also an astronaut and is currently serving as commander of the International Space Station 220 miles above the Earth's surface.
In a Twitter message from space, Scott Kelly said, "I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, words of condolences and encouragement for the victims and their families."
Mark Kelly's participation in the April mission has not yet come into question, and no alternate plans have so far been made, said NASA spokeswoman Nicole Cloutier-Lemasters.
"It's just too early to speculate what might come with that," she said. "Everybody's just focused on taking care of them and supporting them."
Optimistic
Mark Kelly's longtime friend, Todd Fertitta, said that Kelly was distraught after the shooting. "Mark's a very, very strong person, but at times like this it's testing for anybody," Fertitta said.
"I mean he's just very upset."
Doctors said that although a bullet passed through Giffords' brain from back to front, they were cautiously optimistic about her recovery after she was responsive to simple commands.
Friends said the family had received an outpouring of support from NASA and the nation.
Castro weighs inFidel Castro weighed in on the Arizona mass shooting in a column distributed yesterday. The column, titled An Atrocious Act, condemns the shooting, but Castro doesn't miss the chance to criticise the right wing of US politics. He said Giffords was an enemy of the Tea Party and described her as a supporter of immigration reform, stem cell research and alternative energy, "measures that are hated by the far right."
