some food for thought
Kelly to go ahead as shuttle commander
Astronaut Mark Kelly will command the upcoming flight of the space shuttle Endeavour, according to a statement released Friday by NASA.
Command of the shuttle flight -- set to launch April 19 -- came under question after the January shooting of Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Kelly spent the days after the Tucson, Arizona, shooting at his wife's hospital bedside, and NASA had named a backup shuttle commander for the mission.
"I am looking forward to rejoining my (fellow) crew members and finishing our training for the mission," Kelly said in the statement. "We have been preparing for more than 18 months. ... I appreciate the confidence that my NASA management has in me and the rest of my space shuttle crew."
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here's the thing, dear readers. i read this story and i had a really really hard time with it. as a married man myself i know i would have a hard time leaving my wife's side if she was shot in the head. but on the other hand it's the last NASA shuttle mission ever. on the 'stay' side you have the fact that something might happen to him out there, on the 'go' side you have the fact that it's not like NASA can call a temp agency and have a new shuttle commander on the job on monday. this flight has been delayed enough. while this is not his first time out in the Black, you know that if he stayed he would be watching the launch on TV and either be crying or seething that he wasn't on it.
i told my wife i would probably stay if it were us in that situation, but it would be a really really tough decision. she said she wouldn't let me stay, that she would tell me to go.
fortunately i don't have to make that decision, but it's still making me think
Astronaut Mark Kelly will command the upcoming flight of the space shuttle Endeavour, according to a statement released Friday by NASA.
Command of the shuttle flight -- set to launch April 19 -- came under question after the January shooting of Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Kelly spent the days after the Tucson, Arizona, shooting at his wife's hospital bedside, and NASA had named a backup shuttle commander for the mission.
"I am looking forward to rejoining my (fellow) crew members and finishing our training for the mission," Kelly said in the statement. "We have been preparing for more than 18 months. ... I appreciate the confidence that my NASA management has in me and the rest of my space shuttle crew."
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here's the thing, dear readers. i read this story and i had a really really hard time with it. as a married man myself i know i would have a hard time leaving my wife's side if she was shot in the head. but on the other hand it's the last NASA shuttle mission ever. on the 'stay' side you have the fact that something might happen to him out there, on the 'go' side you have the fact that it's not like NASA can call a temp agency and have a new shuttle commander on the job on monday. this flight has been delayed enough. while this is not his first time out in the Black, you know that if he stayed he would be watching the launch on TV and either be crying or seething that he wasn't on it.
i told my wife i would probably stay if it were us in that situation, but it would be a really really tough decision. she said she wouldn't let me stay, that she would tell me to go.
fortunately i don't have to make that decision, but it's still making me think