CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With
her husband in command of space shuttle Discovery and on the verge of
launching, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wanted to set the record straight.
She wasn't there as a
member of Congress. She was there "strictly as the spouse" - the new wife of
commander Mark Kelly - and just as excited and nervous as any of the other
astronauts' family members.
"We've been married six
months, and the space program is relatively new to me," she said Saturday. "I
mean, I grew up in Arizona, I'm a third-generation Arizonan, have no
connections at all to NASA.
"I couldn't be prouder."
She'd just received an
e-mail from husband
Mark Kelly - the last one before he suited up for a late afternoon liftoff
with six other astronauts.
"I love him so much. He's
excited. He said I'll see you in two weeks," Giffords told The Associated
Press, her voice breaking a little as the countdown entered the final few
hours.
Her stress level was way
higher Saturday than it was on the day she was elected to Congress in 2006.
"We all deal with stress in
our own ways. Yeah, of course, I'm nervous," she said. "It's a risky job. I'm
pleased that the vehicle's in good shape, the weather is beautiful. They've had
no problems.
"But you don't really relax
until the chute opens (at touchdown), you see the shuttle coming to a stop and
everyone gets off safely. At that point, you can sort of exhale and relax and
know that your loved one's safe."
This will be her third
shuttle launch in attendance: She was at Kelly's last liftoff, in 2006, and at
her brother-in-law Scott Kelly's launch last August.
Mark and Scott Kelly, by
the way, are identical twins. Both are shuttle commanders and Navy officers.
Giffords is making space
history in her own way: She's the first member of Congress to be married to an
astronaut who's bound for space. A few members of Congress have rocketed into
orbit, and astronauts have gone on to become politicians, most famously John
Glenn. But no politician of that stature has watched from the sidelines before
with such a vested interest.
She is a member of the
House Science and Technology Committee, as well as the Armed Services
Committee.
"I guess there's always a
first for everything," Giffords, 37, said. "But I'm here strictly as the spouse
today. I'm not here as a member of Congress. I'm here to make sure that I'm
like heading up the ground support team."
Mark Kelly's two daughters
from his first marriage, ages 10 and 13, were on hand for the launch
to the International Space Station, as well as his mother, Giffords'
parents and numerous friends, colleagues and acquaintances from Arizona and
Washington. His father, who was celebrating his 68th birthday Saturday,
remained behind in Houston with his 91-year-old mother; they planned to watch
the launch on TV.
The couple met in China in
2003 during a young leaders' forum and married in November after a
long-distance romance. Kelly lives in Houston, NASA's astronaut base. Giffords
splits her time between Washington and Tucson, Ariz., with frequent visits to
Houston.
Kelly, 44, has described
their lives as "busy."
"It's all we've ever known,"
he said.
NASA
will broadcast the planned launch of Discovery's STS-124 mission live on NASA
TV on Saturday. Click here for
SPACE.com's shuttle mission updates and NASA TV feed.
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