HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, retired
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
, and former
naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...
officer serving as the
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, a seat he has held since 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Kelly flew combat missions during the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
as a
naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...
before being selected as a
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
pilot in 1996. He flew his first space mission in 2001 as pilot of
STS-108 STS-108 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle '' Endeavour''. Its primary objective was to deliver supplies to and help maintain the ISS. STS-108 was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the In ...
, then piloted
STS-121 STS-121 was a 2006 Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by on its 32nd flight. The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the Space Shuttle Columbia disas ...
in 2006, and commanded
STS-124 STS-124 was the 35th mission of Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. It went to the International Space Station on this mission. ''Discovery'' launched on May 31, 2008, at 17:02 EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of May 25, 2008, and land ...
in 2008 and
STS-134 STS-134 (ISS assembly sequence, ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier ...
(the final mission of Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'') in 2011. In January 2011, Kelly's wife, then-Arizona Representative
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun violence prevention advocate. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when ...
, was shot and nearly killed in an assassination attempt in Arizona. Kelly retired from the Navy and NASA that October. In 2013, Kelly and Giffords founded a nonprofit political action committee,
Americans for Responsible Solutions Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supported gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and pro ...
(later merged into
Giffords Giffords (stylized "GIFFORDS") is an American advocacy and research organization focused on preventing gun violence. The organization draws its name from one of its co-founders, Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Rep ...
), which campaigned for
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
measures like
universal background check A universal background check for guns is a policy that requires a background check for all gun sales or transfers, regardless of where they occur or who is involved. This includes sales at gun shows, private sales between individuals, and sales ...
s. On February 12, 2019, Kelly announced his candidacy for Arizona's Class 3 U.S. Senate seat in the 2020 special election. He won the Democratic primary on August 4, 2020, and defeated incumbent Republican
Martha McSally Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who represented Arizona in both chambers of Congress between 2015 and 2020. She is to date the last Republican to serve Arizona in the U.S. Senate ...
in the general election on November 3, becoming the first Democrat to win this seat since
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
. Kelly was sworn in on December 2. In
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, he was elected to a full term in office, defeating Republican challenger
Blake Masters Blake Gates Masters (born August 5, 1986) is an American venture capitalist, author, former political candidate, and conspiracy theorist. Often regarded as a protégé of businessman Peter Thiel, Sources that call Masters a protégé of Thiel i ...
. Independent
Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema ( ; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and former social worker who served from 2019 to 2025 as a United States senator from Arizona. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent ...
's departure from the Senate in 2025 made Kelly Arizona's senior senator. He was reportedly one of the three leading contenders for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, along with Pennsylvania governor
Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the attorney general of Pen ...
and Minnesota governor
Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...
. Presidential nominee
Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
ultimately chose Walz.


Early life and education

Mark Kelly and his identical twin brother, Scott Kelly, are sons of Richard and Patricia (née McAvoy) Kelly, two retired police officers. Kelly is of Irish descent. He was born on February 21, 1964, in
Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...
, and raised in
West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...
. Kelly graduated from Mountain High School in 1982. In 1986, he took highest honors in a
marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...
and
nautical science Marine navigation is the art and science of steering a ship from a starting point (sailing) to a destination, efficiently and responsibly. It is an art because of the skill that the navigator must have to avoid the dangers of navigation, and it ...
BSc from the
United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipman, midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serv ...
. In 1994, he received a MSc in
aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
from the U.S.
Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...
.


Naval career (1987–2011)

In December 1987, Kelly became a
naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...
and received initial training on the
A-6E Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twinjet all-weather subsonic attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace. It was formerly operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The A-6 was designed in res ...
attack aircraft. He was then assigned to Attack Squadron 115 ( VA-115) at
NAF Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato, Kanagawa, Yamato and Ayase, Kanagawa, Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean, and once housed ...
in Kanagawa, Japan. He was deployed twice with VA-115 to the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
aboard the aircraft carrier , which was homeported at
Naval Station Yokosuka or is a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Seventh Fleet and other operating f ...
in
Yokosuka, Japan is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city is ...
. During
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, Kelly flew 39
combat mission ''Combat Mission'' is a series of computer wargames simulating tactical battles. The series has progressed through two distinct game engines. The original game engine, referred to as 'CMx1' by the developer, Battlefront.com, powered a trio of g ...
s. After the Gulf War, Kelly received his master's degree and then attended U.S. Naval Test Pilot School from 1993 to 1994. As a naval aviator and test pilot, he has logged over 5,000 hours in more than 50 different aircraft and trapped over 375 carrier landings. During his Navy career, Kelly received two
Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...
s; one
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...
; two Distinguished Flying Crosses; four
Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...
s (two individual/two strike flight) with Combat "V"; two
Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...
s, (one with combat "V"); one
Navy Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...
; two
Southwest Asia Service Medal The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service member ...
s; one
Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded to t ...
; two
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a Un ...
s; a
NASA Distinguished Service Medal The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...
; and an
Overseas Service Ribbon An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...
. On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced his retirement from both the Navy and
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
, effective October 1, citing
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun violence prevention advocate. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when ...
's needs during her recovery from the attempt on her life that January.


NASA career (1996–2011)

NASA selected both Kelly and his
identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...
, Scott Kelly, to be Space Shuttle pilots in 1996. They joined the
NASA Astronaut Corps The NASA Astronaut Corps is a unit of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members for U.S. and international space missions. It is based at Johnson Space Ce ...
in August of that year. They are the only siblings to have both traveled into orbit.


Spaceflight experience


STS-108

Kelly's first trip into space was as pilot of STS-108. After several delays, ''Endeavour'' lifted off on December 5, 2001, on the final Shuttle mission of 2001. STS-108 ''Endeavour'' visited the ISS, delivering over three tons of equipment, supplies, and a fresh crew to the orbiting outpost. The hatches were opened between ''Endeavour'' and the ISS'' Destiny ''Laboratory on December 7, enabling the 10 crew members to greet one another. The
Expedition 3 Expedition 3 was the third expedition to the International Space Station. Commander Frank L. Culbertson Jr. was the only American crew member, and as such the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 attacks, which the crew photographed and vi ...
crew officially ended their 117-day residency on board the ISS on December 8 as their custom ''Soyuz'' seat-liners were transferred to ''Endeavour'' for the return trip home. The transfer of the
Expedition 4 Expedition 4 was the fourth expedition to the International Space Station (7 December 2001 – 15 June 2002). Crew Mission parameters * Perigee: 384 km * Apogee: 396 km * Inclination: 51.6° * Period: 92 min Mission objectives The ...
seat-liners to the'' Soyuz ''return vehicle attached to the station marked the official exchange of crews. Kelly and Mission Specialist Linda Godwin used the shuttle's robotic arm to lift the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module from the shuttle payload bay and attach it to a berth on the station's Unity node. The crews began unloading supplies the same day. Mission managers extended ''Endeavour's'' flight duration to 12 days to allow the crew to assist with additional maintenance tasks on the station, including work on a treadmill and replacing a failed compressor in one of the air conditioners in the Zvezda Service Module. A change of command ceremony took place on December 13 as Expedition 3 ended and Expedition 4 began. STS-108 returned to Earth with the previous ISS crew of three men. Kelly traveled over 4.8 million miles and orbited the Earth 186 times over 11 days and 19+ hours.


STS-121

In July 2006, Kelly piloted STS-121 ''Discovery'', the second "Return to Flight" mission after
the loss "The Loss" is the 84th episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and the tenth episode of the fourth season. It originally aired on December 31, 1990. Set in the 24th century, the series fol ...
of '' Columbia'' in February 2003. Because of weather delays, STS-121 became the first shuttle mission to launch on the
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
. In 2006, Kelly discussed the risks aboard the Space Shuttle: The mission's main purposes were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced after the ''Columbia'' disaster and to deliver supplies, equipment, and
European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
astronaut
Thomas Reiter Thomas Arthur Reiter (born 23 May 1958 in Frankfurt, West Germany) is a retired European astronaut and is a Brigadier General in the German Air Force currently working as ESA Interagency Coordinator and Advisor to the Director General at the E ...
from Germany to the ISS. Reiter's transfer returned the ISS to a three-member staffing level. During the STS-121 mission to the ISS, the crew of ''Discovery'' continued to test new equipment and procedures for the inspection and repair of the thermal protection system that is designed to increase the shuttles' safety. It also delivered more supplies and cargo for future ISS expansion. After the ''Columbia'' accident, NASA decided that two test flights would be required and that activities originally assigned to
STS-114 STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. ''Discovery'' launched at 10:39 EDT (14:39 UTC) on her 31st flight on July 26, 2005. The launch, 907 days (approx. 29 months) a ...
would be divided into two missions because of the addition of post-''Columbia'' safety tests. Gabby Giffords, Kelly's girlfriend at the time, picked one of the mission's wake-up songs, U2's "
Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, '' All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, ...
". During the
U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band pla ...
, Kelly often appeared on screen from the International Space Station during the song's introduction, greeting the city the band was playing in and asking the crowd to "tell my wife I love her very much, she knows"—a reference to
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's "
Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips and Mercury Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album, ''David Bowie''. Produce ...
"; the tour's staging was often called the "space station". Kelly traveled over 5.28 million miles and orbited the Earth 202 times over 12 days and 18+ hours.


STS-124

STS-124 ''Discovery'' was Kelly's first mission as commander. A month before liftoff, he discussed what being a shuttle commander entailed and how it was different from his previous missions: The mission was the second of three shuttle missions to carry components of Japan's Kibo laboratory to the ISS. ''Kibo'' is Japanese for "hope". The laboratory is Japan's primary contribution to the ISS. Just before liftoff, Kelly said, "While we've all prepared for this event today, the discoveries from Kibo will definitely offer hope for tomorrow. Now stand by for the greatest show on Earth." During the launch, Launch Pad 39A sustained substantial damage, more than had been seen on any previous launch. After liftoff, inspectors discovered that bricks and mortar from the launch pad's base had been thrown as far as the perimeter fence, a distance of 1,500 feet (457 m). Kelly and his crew delivered the pressurized module for Kibo to the ISS. The module is the Kibo laboratory's largest component and the station's largest habitable module. ''Discovery'' also delivered Kibo's Remote Manipulator System. It also delivered a replacement part for the station's toilet. The ISS's toilet had been malfunctioning for a week, creating a potentially serious problem for the crew. When Kelly first entered the station, he joked, "You looking for a plumber?" This mission was the first time a spouse of a member of Congress traveled to space. Kelly traveled over 5.7 million miles, and orbited the Earth 218 times over 13 days and 18 hours. As of 2009, Kelly had logged over 54 days in space overall.


STS-134

STS-134 launched on May 16, 2011. On April 29, 2011, the first launch attempt of STS-134 was scrubbed. Giffords traveled to Florida on her first trip since moving from
Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
to
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
in January after an attempted assassination. Her appearance at
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...
gave the launch a high profile, "one of the most anticipated in years," according to ''The New York Times''. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
visited the Kennedy Space Center on April 29 on a trip with the original intention of watching the ''Endeavour'' launch. Kelly was the commander of the mission, which was ''Endeavour''s last. He and his crew delivered the
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a particle physics experiment module that is mounted on the International Space Station (ISS).Kristine Rainey (April 2, 2013)Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS): How It Works NASA. Retrieved June 2, 20 ...
to the ISS. Most of the mission's delays were caused by
external tank The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) was the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contained the liquid hydrogen Rocket propellant, fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplied the fuel and oxidizer und ...
issues on
STS-133 STS-133 (Assembly of the International Space Station#Assembly sequence, ISS assembly flight ULF5) was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' docked with the Int ...
''Discovery''. When Scott Kelly went to the ISS on October 7, 2010, STS-134 was scheduled to go to the station during his mission. The potential rendezvous in space of the Kelly brothers would have been a first meeting of blood relatives in space. The delay of STS-134's launch ended that possibility. After his wife's shooting, Kelly's status was unclear, but NASA announced on February 4, 2011, that he would remain commander of the mission. The remarkable progress his wife was making in her recovery helped Kelly decide to return to training.
Peggy Whitson Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut. Over all her missions, Whitson accumulated a total of ...
, chief of the NASA Astronaut Office at the time, said, "we are confident in his ability to successfully lead this mission, and I know I speak for all of NASA in saying 'welcome back.'"


Papal blessing

At 4 pm PDT on May 22, 2011, the
European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
and
Italian Space Agency The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...
arranged for a call to ''Endeavour'' by
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
. During his call—prompted by the discovery of a gash in the Shuttle's fuselage—Benedict extended his blessing to Giffords, who had undergone skull surgery earlier in the week. The event marked the first time a pope spoke to astronauts during a mission.


U2

On June 24, 2011, a recorded message by Kelly from the ISS wished his wife love using song lyrics from
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's "
Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips and Mercury Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album, ''David Bowie''. Produce ...
" and introduced U2's song "
Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, '' All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, ...
" on the first night of the
Glastonbury festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
in England. A similar message from Kelly aboard the ISS was played during U2's 360° Tour concert stop at various locations. It said: "I'm looking forward to coming home. Tell my wife I love her very much. She knows."


Retirement

On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced that he would leave NASA's astronaut corps and the U.S. Navy effective October 1. He cited Giffords's needs during her recovery as a reason for his retirement. He announced his retirement on his
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page, writing: "Words cannot convey my deep gratitude for the opportunities I have been given to serve our great nation. From the day I entered the United States Merchant Marine Academy in the summer of 1982 to the moment I landed the Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' three weeks ago, it has been my privilege to advance the ideals that define the United States of America."


Post-NASA career (2011–2016)


Author

In 2011, Kelly and Giffords coauthored ''Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience''. The book provides biographical information on the couple and describes in detail the assassination attempt on Giffords and her initial recovery. Written in Kelly's voice, it includes a short note by Giffords at the end. Kelly's second book, ''Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story'' (2012), is a children's book illustrated by C. F. Payne. It was a ''New York Times'' number one bestseller and was followed the next year by a sequel, ''Mousetronaut Goes to Mars''. In 2014, Giffords and Kelly coauthored ''Enough: Our Fight to Keep America Safe from Gun Violence''. In 2015, Kelly and Martha Freeman co-wrote ''Astrotwins: Project Blastoff,'' a fictional story about twins Scott and Mark who build a space capsule in their grandfather's backyard and try to send the first kid into orbit. Kelly dedicated this book to Scott Kelly. The sequel, ''Astrotwins—Project Rescue'', was published in 2016.


Aerospace work

Kelly was a co-founder and strategic advisor of Tucson-based
high-altitude balloon High-altitude balloons or stratostats are usually uncrewed balloons typically filled with helium or hydrogen and released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between above sea level. In 2013, a balloon named BS 13-08 reached a record alti ...
near-space exploration company
World View Enterprises World View Enterprises, Inc., doing business as World View, is a private American near space exploration and technology company headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, founded with the goal of increasing access to and the utilization of the stratosphere ...
. He served as Director of Flight Crew Operations beginning in 2013, and was involved in the development of the new craft, as well as its procedures and operations. Chinese company
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
invested millions into World View between 2013 and 2016. Kelly left World View in 2019, before he started his Senate campaign; as of 2021 he held over $100,000 of World View stocks through a blind trust. On March 28, 2012,
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...
announced that Kelly would be part of an independent safety advisory panel composed of leading human spaceflight safety experts.


Speeches

From 2011 to 2016, Kelly delivered paid speeches in the U.S. and in China on behalf of
Shaklee Shaklee Corporation is an American manufacturer and multi-level marketing distributor of natural nutrition supplements, weight-management products, beauty products, and household products. The company is based in Miami, Florida, with operations ...
, a
multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial and sometimes illegal marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salarie ...
distributor of nutritional supplements. Separately, Kelly has also delivered paid speeches to bank
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
, the
Mortgage Bankers Association The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing all facets of the real estate finance industry in the United States and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. MBA represents over 2,200 member companies. MBA’s memb ...
, and drug company
AmerisourceBergen Cencora, Inc., formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is an American drug wholesale company and a contract research organization, that was formed by the merger of Bergen Brunswig and AmeriSource in 2001. It is one of the largest pharmaceutica ...
.


Political activism

In January 2013, weeks after the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Newtown Public Schools, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. The victims were 20 children bet ...
, Kelly and Giffords started a nonprofit political action committee,
Americans for Responsible Solutions Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supported gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and pro ...
(ARS). The organization's mission is to promote solutions to gun violence with elected officials and the general public. The couple say it supports the
Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
while promoting responsible gun ownership and "keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people like criminals, terrorists, and the mentally ill". The group claims that "current gun laws allow private sellers to sell guns without a background check, creating a loophole that provides criminals and the mentally ill easy access to guns". On March 31, 2013, Kelly said, "any bill that does not include a
universal background check A universal background check for guns is a policy that requires a background check for all gun sales or transfers, regardless of where they occur or who is involved. This includes sales at gun shows, private sales between individuals, and sales ...
is a mistake. It's the most common-sense thing we can do to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from having access to weapons." In 2016, ARS merged with the
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence GIFFORDS Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, previously known as the Legal Community Against Violence and the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, is a national public interest law center and nonprofit organization that promotes gun violence prevent ...
to become
Giffords Giffords (stylized "GIFFORDS") is an American advocacy and research organization focused on preventing gun violence. The organization draws its name from one of its co-founders, Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Rep ...
, which besides background checks advocates for
red flag law In the United States, a red flag law (named after the idiom red flag meaning “warning sign“; also known as a risk-based gun removal law,Reena Kapoor, Elissa Benedek, Richard J. Bonnie, Tanuja Gandhi, Liza Gold, Seth Judd, Debra A. PinalsRes ...
s.


U.S. Senate (2020–present)


Elections


2020 special

On February 12, 2019, Kelly announced that he would run as a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
in the 2020 U.S. Senate special election in Arizona. Kelly looked to unseat incumbent Republican
Martha McSally Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who represented Arizona in both chambers of Congress between 2015 and 2020. She is to date the last Republican to serve Arizona in the U.S. Senate ...
, a fellow veteran who was appointed to the seat shortly after losing the 2018 election for the state's other seat in the Senate to Democrat
Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema ( ; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and former social worker who served from 2019 to 2025 as a United States senator from Arizona. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent ...
. The seat was vacated upon
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
's death on August 25, 2018, and held by Governor
Doug Ducey Douglas Anthony Ducey ( ; ; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as the 23rd List of governors of Arizona, governor of Arizona from 2015 to 2023 and as State Treas ...
's appointee
Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013. Following the death of John McCain in 2018, Kyl briefly returned to the Senate; his resignatio ...
until Kyl resigned on December 31, 2018. Kelly declined to accept campaign contributions from corporate
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
s (PACs), but did accept thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from corporate executives and lobbyists. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
called the race for Kelly on November 4, 2020. His election marks the first time since 1953 that Arizona has had two Democratic senators. As the election was a special election, Kelly took office during the
116th Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate, Senate and the United States House of Representati ...
, shortly after Arizona certified its election results on November 30, unlike other senators and representatives elected in 2020, who took office at the opening of the
117th Congress The 117th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3 ...
on January 3, 2021. Kelly was sworn in at noon on December 2. Kelly is the fifth retired astronaut to be elected to Congress, after
John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...
,
Harrison Schmitt Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico. He is the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military a ...
,
Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...
, and
Jack Swigert John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of A ...
.


2022

Kelly was reelected in 2022, defeating Republican nominee
Blake Masters Blake Gates Masters (born August 5, 1986) is an American venture capitalist, author, former political candidate, and conspiracy theorist. Often regarded as a protégé of businessman Peter Thiel, Sources that call Masters a protégé of Thiel i ...
by 125,719 votes.


Tenure

On December 2, 2020, Kelly cast his first Senate vote, a "no" vote on the nomination of Kathryn C. Davis to the
U.S. Court of Federal Claims The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
. On December 9, Kelly voted "no" on a resolution blocking President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
from selling $23 billion in drones to the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. Kelly split his vote by voting yes on another resolution blocking
F-35 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warf ...
sales to the UAE. Both resolutions failed. In the wake of the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack, Kelly said that Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
and Trump's cabinet "have the responsibility to discuss invoking the 25th amendment", Section 4 of which allows the vice president and cabinet to declare the president unable to serve and transfer presidential power to the vice president. Kelly voted to convict in Trump's second impeachment trial, along with 56 other senators. In January 2023, three bills regarding Indian tribes, introduced by Kelly and fellow Arizona Senator
Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Lea Sinema ( ; born July 12, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and former social worker who served from 2019 to 2025 as a United States senator from Arizona. A former member of the Democratic Party, Sinema became an independent ...
, were signed into law by President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
. One bill regarding the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act allocated more federal money and time to build water infrastructure for the
White Mountain Apache Tribe The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation (We ...
. A second bill, the Colorado River Indian Tribes Water Resiliency Act, permitted the
Colorado River Indian Tribes The Colorado River Indian Tribes (, ) is a federally recognized tribe consisting of the four distinct ethnic groups associated with the Colorado River Indian Reservation: the Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi, and Navajo. The tribe has about 4,277 enrol ...
(the
Mohave Mojave or Mohave most often refers to: *Mojave Desert *Mojave River *Mohave people *Mojave language *Mohave County, Arizona, a county in the U.S. state of Arizona Mojave or Mohave may also refer to: Places * Fort Mojave Indian Reservation * Mo ...
,
Chemehuevi The Chemehuevi ( ) are an indigenous people of the Great Basin. They are the southernmost branch of Southern Paiute. Today, Chemehuevi people are enrolled in the following federally recognized tribes: * Colorado River Indian Tribes * Cheme ...
,
Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...
, and
Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...
) to begin leasing out parts of the
Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
they were allocated, while a third bill, the Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act, allocated part of the Colorado River to the
Hualapai The Hualapai ( , ) are a federally recognized Native American tribe in Arizona with about 2300 enrolled citizens. Approximately 1353 enrolled citizens reside on the Hualapai Reservation, which spans over three counties in Northern Arizona ( Coc ...
tribe, so that water infrastructure can deliver water to the tribe. During the
117th Congress The 117th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3 ...
, Kelly co-sponsored several legislative bills that were supported by both parties and became law; these bills included those on the topics of mandating
de-escalation De-escalation refers to the methods and actions taken to decrease the severity of a conflict, whether of physical, verbal or another nature. It is the opposite of escalation. De-escalation may also refer to approaches in conflict resolution, b ...
training for law enforcement, updating ocean shipping governance, combating
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
, and reimbursing people suffering from radiation from atomic weapon tests; during the
118th Congress The 118th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January ...
, Kelly co-sponsored the bipartisan END FENTANYL Act, passed in 2023. The law requires
United States Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border guard, border ...
to refresh its interdiction procedures at least every three years to mitigate advances in narcotics and human trafficking across the U.S. southern border.


Committee assignments

* Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Airland(ranking member) ** Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities *
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recl ...
(until October 17, 2023) ** Subcommittee on National Parks ** Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining ** Subcommittee on Water and Power *
Committee on Environment and Public Works The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for legislation and oversight of the natural and built environment and for studying matters concerning environmental protection and resource conservation and util ...
** Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight ** Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife ** Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure * Special Committee on Aging *
Joint Economic Committee The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is one of four standing joint committees of the U.S. Congress. The committee was established as a part of the Employment Act of 1946, which deemed the committee responsible for reporting the current economic co ...


Political positions

Kelly ran as a
moderate Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. Political position Canad ...
in 2020 and voiced support for
bipartisanship Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find c ...
. Since joining the Senate, he supported abolishing the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation and a federal minimum wage increase to $15 per hour. He has criticized
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
's approach to border security. As of October 2022, Kelly has voted in line with Biden's stated position 94.5% of the time.


Abortion

As a candidate in 2020, Kelly said he was "
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...
" and was endorsed by
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization
. He supports codifying ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
'' into federal law. He has said that late-stage abortions should be legally protected.


Climate and environment

Kelly has voiced support for climate action, but said he "does not favor" the
Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...
. The
League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "builds political power for people and the planet." Through its affiliated super PAC, it is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. The org ...
gave him a 97% score in 2021. In a 2021
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
exposé, Kelly was one of 11 U.S. senators
ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...
Senior Director for Federal Relations Keith McCoy called "crucial" to the company. Kelly has received funding from ExxonMobil lobbyists. In 2022, he advocated for an expansion of oil drilling in the wake of rising gas prices. Kelly was one of three Senate Democrats (alongside
John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman ( ; born August 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2006 to 2019 as the mayor o ...
and
Ruben Gallego Rubén Marinelarena Gallego ( ; born November 20, 1979) is an American politician and USMC, Marine Corps veteran serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senator, United States senator from Arizona. ...
) to vote for
Lee Zeldin Lee Michael Zeldin (born January 30, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and officer in the United States Army Reserve who has been serving as the 17th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since January 29, 2025. A m ...
to be
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other envir ...
.


Guns

Kelly became an outspoken advocate for gun control after the attempted assassination of his wife, former
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
Representative
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun violence prevention advocate. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when ...
, in the 2011 Tucson mass shooting. Kelly voted for the
Bipartisan Safer Communities Act The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a United States federal law, passed in 2022. It implemented several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs, and gun control laws. Gun control laws in the bill include extended backgrou ...
in response to the
Robb Elementary School shooting The Uvalde school shooting was a mass shooting on May 24, 2022, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot 19 students and 2 teachers, while inju ...
in
Uvalde, Texas Uvalde ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census, down from 15,751 in 2010. It is the principal city in the Uvalde, Texas Micropolitan Statistical Area. Uvalde is ...
.


Health care

Kelly supports building on the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
to include a
public health insurance option The public health insurance option, also known as the public insurance option or the public option, is a proposal to create a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private health insurance companies within the Unite ...
. He opposes
Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...
.


Immigration

Kelly has expressed support for the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a Immigration policy of the United States, United States immigration policy that allows some individuals who, on June 15, 2012, were physically present in the United States with no lawful immigra ...
program, saying, "
Dreamers Dreamers or The Dreamers may refer to: Books * "Dreamers", a 1918 war poem by Siegfried Sassoon * "The Dreamers" (play), a 1982 play by Jack Davis * ''The Dreamers'' (novel series), a 2003–06 fantasy series by David Eddings and Leigh Eddings ...
are as American as anyone." In July 2024, he blamed former President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
for sinking a bipartisan border bill. In 2025, Kelly was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the
Laken Riley Act The Laken Riley Act is a United States law that requires the detention, without Bail, bond, of Illegal immigration to the United States, illegal immigrants admitting to, charged with, or convicted of theft-related crimes, assaulting a police of ...
.


Donald Trump

In February 2021, Kelly voted to convict Trump for incitement of
insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
in his second impeachment trial, and has been outspoken in his disdain for him.


Personal life

Kelly married Amelia Victoria Babis on January 7, 1989. They divorced in 2004. They have two daughters, Claudia and Claire Kelly. Kelly married U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords of Tucson on November 10, 2007, in a ceremony presided over by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron and attended by his STS-124 shuttle crew and former Secretary of Labor
Robert Reich Robert Bernard Reich (; born June 24, 1946) is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He worked in the administrations of presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and he served as United States Secretary of Labor, Se ...
. Reich toasted: "To a bride who moves at a velocity that exceeds that of anyone else in Washington, and a groom who moves at a velocity that exceeds 17,000 miles per hour." The couple met on a 2003 trip to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
as part of a trade mission sponsored by the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations. At the time of their marriage, Kelly lived in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, and said that the longest stretch of time the two had spent together was a couple of weeks. He said that they did not plan to always live that way, but that it was what they were used to. He added, "It teaches you not to sweat the small stuff." Kelly appeared on an episode of ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' in 2015.


Shooting in Tucson

Giffords was shot in an assassination attempt on January 8, 2011, which killed six people and brought national attention to Kelly. On February 4, Kelly described the previous month as the hardest time of his life and expressed his gratitude for the enormous outpouring of support, good wishes and prayers for his wife. He said that he believed people's prayers for her helped. One of Giffords's aides informed Kelly of the shooting almost immediately after it happened. He flew from Houston to Tucson with members of his family. En route, the Kellys received an erroneous news report that Giffords had died. "The kids, Claudia and Claire, started crying. My mother, she almost screamed. I just walked into the bathroom, and, you know, broke down." Calling family in Tucson, Kelly found out that the report was false and that she was alive and in surgery. "It was a terrible mistake," Kelly said. "As bad as it was that she had died, it's equally exciting that she hadn't." From the time he arrived in Tucson, Kelly sat vigil at his wife's bedside as she struggled to survive and began to recover. As her condition began to improve, the Kelly-Giffords family researched options for rehabilitation facilities and chose one in Houston. On January 21, Giffords was transferred to the
Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center is a nationally ranked hospital at the Texas Medical Center. It is the first hospital founded in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas (and its founding predates the Texas Medical Center). Founded in 19 ...
, where she spent five days before moving to TIRR Memorial Hermann, where she continued her recovery and rehabilitation. Giffords and Kelly had spoken dozens of times about how risky her job was. She was afraid that someone with a gun would come up to her at a public event. In an interview filmed just over a week after the shooting, Kelly said, "She has
Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Prospecting, prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona, Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last ...
, in her district, the town that's too tough to die. Gabrielle Giffords is too tough to let this beat her."


Aftermath

A memorial service for those killed in the assassination attempt was held on January 12, 2011, at the University of Arizona. President Obama flew to Tucson to speak at the memorial. Kelly sat between First Lady
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
and Secretary of Homeland Security
Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...
, the former governor of Arizona. At the end of the service, Obama consoled and embraced him, after which Kelly returned to the hospital to be with his wife. Kelly spoke on February 3, 2011, at the
National Prayer Breakfast The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
His remarks closed the event, where Obama also spoke. Kelly said the attack on his wife brought him closer to God and gave him a newfound awareness regarding prayer. He said that before the attack, "I thought the world just spins and the clock just ticks and things happen for no particular reason", but that, in Tucson, as he found himself wandering in makeshift memorials and shrines filled with Bibles and angels, "You pray where you are. You pray when God is there in your heart." Kelly offered the final prayer of the morning, lightly adapted by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron from a traditional bedtime prayer. Rabbi Aaron, who married Kelly and Giffords, had said the same words over Giffords on the night of the shooting: In 2011, Kelly said he believed there was a chance to change a political environment he believed was too vitriolic. He hoped that the tragedy would be an opportunity to improve the tone of the national dialogue and cool down the rhetoric. In response to a question on February 4, 2011, about civility in politics, Kelly said, "I haven't spent a lot of time following that, but I think that with something that was so horrible and so negative, and the fact that six people lost their lives including a nine-year-old girl, a federal judge, Gabby's staff member Gabe—who was like a younger brother to her—it's really, really a sad situation. I am hopeful that something positive can come out of it. I think that will happen, so those are good things."


Electoral history


Awards and decorations

Kelly's awards and decorations include:


References


Notes


Further reading


Interview with ''Discovery'' crew
, July 11, 2006

, May 31, 2008, includes link to video of launch
Statement from Mark Kelly
January 10, 2011, Kelly's first public statement after the shooting of his wife
Kelly's Interview with Diane Sawyer
January 2011, ABC News video
Kelly's remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast
February 3, 2011, CBS News video.
Kelly to Fly on Shuttle Mission
February 4, 2011, NASA Press Conference with Mark Kelly, Peggy Whitson and
Brent Jett Brent Ward Jett Jr. (born October 5, 1958), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is a retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace and aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut. Personal life Jett was born in Pontiac, Michigan, but considers ...
, NASA TV


External links


Senator Mark Kelly
official U.S. Senate website
Mark Kelly for U.S. Senate
campaign website * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Mark Edward 1964 births Living people 20th-century American naval officers 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American naval officers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century United States senators American astronaut-politicians American gun control activists American identical twins American people of Irish descent American test pilots Arizona Democrats Democratic Party United States senators from Arizona Gabby Giffords Identical twin males Military personnel from Essex County, New Jersey Naval Postgraduate School alumni Politicians from Tucson, Arizona Politicians from West Orange, New Jersey Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Space Shuttle program astronauts Spouses of Arizona politicians United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees United States Merchant Marine Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni United States Navy astronauts United States Navy captains United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War West Orange High School (New Jersey) alumni Writers from Tucson, Arizona Writers from West Orange, New Jersey