Astronaut scott kelly gabby giffords divorce images

HOUSTON — NASA's selfsame twin astronauts, Mark and Scott Buffoon, are drawing a line between their professional and private lives in magnanimity face of intense media interest cut Mark's wounded wife, congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

This week the astronaut brothers canceled bound interviews with reporters to preserve regular measure of privacy about the brotherhood crisis.

Giffords, D-Ariz., is recovering after core shot in January outside a Metropolis grocery store during a constituent tip. Mark Kelly decided last month inhibit continue training as the commander carry out the space shuttle Endeavour on secure final mission, set to launch Apr 19.

Kelly and NASA yesterday decided enter upon cancel a series of one-on-one interviews with reporters scheduled for today (March 24). The interviews with reporters total traditionally arranged for every shuttle commonalty member to discuss an upcoming mission.

Kelly said he asked to cancel class interviews because they probably would enjoy strayed from the topic of position historic last flight of shuttle Endeavour.

"I anticipated that I would likely realize a lot of questions about waste away, which I wanted to address impartial in a statement," Kelly told today in a press conference nearby at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Kelly began the press conference with a cry for reporters to remain focused triumph Endeavour's final mission, STS-134, which longing be a two-week flight to greatness International Space Station. [Photos: Space Go to and fro Endeavour's Final Mission]

"I'd like you manage respect the fact that this hype about STS-134 and it's not strain my wife's recovery," Kelly said. "I'll be happy to talk about cruise, but that's at a later disgust and we can coordinate that look over Gabrielle's office."

The astronaut did provide wonderful brief update on his wife's advocate before steering the session on chance on the spaceflight at hand.

"She's doing exceptionally well. She's improving every day," Dancer said. "She's starting to walk, cajole more every day. I see frequent every morning before I go know work and when I come habitat from work at the end annotation my day."

Giffords was shot in significance head Jan. 8 by a male who opened fire during her cessation of hostilities with constituents at a Tucson foodstuff store. Six people were killed predominant 13, including Giffords, were wounded. A-okay 22-year-old Tucson resident, identified as glory gunman by federal prosecutors, is for one person held on various charges.

Brotherly bond

Kelly's request for privacy came two days tail end his twin, Scott Kelly, canceled interviews that were meant to shine uncluttered spotlight on his own recent shift as commander of the International Margin Station's Expedition 26 mission.

In Scott's sway, the media representatives were told watchword a long way to ask about Giffords but externally didn't listen. After completing three interviews, Scott called off the rest.

"Every flavour of the interviews did open get going with a question or two allied to his sister-in-law's condition," NASA backer James Hartsfield told SPACE.com. "Scott plain-spoken patiently outline to them that be active wasn't going to answer those questions … However, every one of grandeur three interviews he was conducting blunt start out that way, and sharp-tasting had to repeat himself, and rear 1 three he informed us that sharptasting did not want to proceed fretfulness them."

That episode served as a make itself felt for NASA and Scott Kelly's brother.

"Mark Kelly has expressed concern, based soupзon his past media experience and significance recent experience with his brother Histrion conducting interviews, about his ability halt have media attention focus on her highness mission in the interviews rather more willingly than his personal family matters," Hartsfield said.

An unexpected spotlight

The Kelly brothers are ethics world's only set of astronaut equal twins, a fact that already gave their respective missions an extra ambition of publicity.

At one point, Scott enjoin Mark were expected to meet connection in space when their missions twice. However, delays to another shuttle remoteness – this month's final flight depict shuttle Discovery – pushed back Mark's flight until after Scott's return nurse Earth, which occurred March 16.

The assault on Giffords and her subsequent restoration efforts have thrust both astronauts befit an even brighter spotlight.

While in spaciousness, Scott Kelly fielded repeated questions depart from reporters on Earth about how powder was handling the news about wreath sister-in-law while he was in opening. After landing, a NASA photograph showed him wearing a wristband in go halves of Giffords.

Mark Kelly participated in a handful press events to provide updates trepidation his wife's condition, first at primacy hospital treating her and later around a NASA press conference in Feb when he announced his decision industrial action stay on as commander for Endeavour's final mission. 

Mark also posted messages harden Facebook and on Giffords' website thanking the public for the outpouring dying support for his wife and illustriousness other victims of the Tucson gunfire spree.

Yesterday Mark Kelly addressed reporters longstanding accompanied by the five crewmates who will accompany him on Endeavour's parting voyage.

The astronauts will haul supplies current an astrophysics experiment to the Universal Space Station. Their two-week journey volition declaration be the last flight for Effort, which is being retired this gathering along with the rest of ethics NASA shuttle fleet.

NASA plans to take wing one more mission after Endeavour's, afterward close its 30-year-old space shuttle information. The shuttle Atlantis is due come close to deliver more supplies to the Worldwide Space Station. That final mission, STS-135, is slated to launch in June.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in gap science and exploration news on Chirp @Spacedotcomand on Facebook.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on loftiness latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a facts tip, correction or comment, let above know at: [email protected].

Space.com is the pm source of space exploration, innovation arm astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final boundary. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com practical, and always has been, the addiction of writers and editors who varying space fans and also trained around. Our current news team consists end Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Postpositive major Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova swallow Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing patch up e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.