STS-134: Mark Kelly will command Endeavour

Mark Kelly said today that his decision to resume training was made with the unanimous support of his and his wife's families, including his brother Scott, who is currently aboard the International Space Station.

"Considering a bunch of... factors, including what Gabrielle would want me to do and what her parents and her family and my family would like, I ultimately made the decision that I would like to return and command STS-134," he said.

His decision was met with agreement from his NASA management, including chief astronaut Peggy Whitson and Brent Jett, Director of Flight Operations.

"Mark had to make the first part of this decision," said Whitson. "We weren't going to ask him to command 134 unless he felt comfortable and ready to do that."

"In addition to feeling comfortable, he has an incredible support group, which made us more comfortable with the fact that he had folks to help him through this process and that it would make it a doable thing for him to perform the mission," she said.

Although he won't formally rejoin his STS-134 crewmates for training until next week, Kelly reported to the Johnson Space Center on Monday to demonstrate that he could work without being distracted by his wife's rehabilitation.

"We asked him to train this week with a schedule that would approximate the schedule he would have while he was training for the mission and put his plan into effect and see how it worked out," said Jett. "It also gave us an opportunity to observe Mark."

"Obviously, as his management it was important for us to know that he would be able to focus while he was in training and not be distracted by Gabrielle's situation in the hospital during her rehab," he said.

Kelly took part in a four-hour ascent sim in the motion-base simulator, flew T-38 jets twice, used single system trainers and traveled to Washington, DC for the National Prayer Breakfast as a demonstration that he could be away from Gabrielle.

Kelly declined sharing the details of his wife's prognosis but said that he had every intention for Gabrielle to be at his launch on April 19.

"I've already talked to her doctors about it. There really shouldn't be any reason why she can't go to the launch," Kelly said.

During the flight, he will be able to stay in touch and be apprised of her status via e-mail and using an IP phone. He will also have use of video conferencing facilities at least once during the 14-day mission.

At the press conference, Kelly wore a blue wristband that was sent to him by his wife's congressional staff. On it, he said, was the peace symbol, the heart symbol, and his wife's first name, or "Peace, Love, Gabby."

"Spaceflight is a risky business," Kelly said. "Apparently so is being a member of Congress. From my perspective I've always evaluated the risk with what the benefit is. I really value what NASA does. If something happened to me, how that would affect her -- that was part of what I considered, and ultimately what I decided was the right thing for me to do was to return and fly STS-134."