Mark Kelly

Naval career (1987–2011) In December 1987, Kelly became a naval aviator and received initial training on the Grumman A-6E Intruder attack aircraft. He was then assigned to Attack Squadron 115 (VA-115) at NAF Atsugi in Kanagawa, Japan. He was deployed twice with VA-115 to the Persian Gulf aboard the aircraft carrier , which was homeported at Naval Station Yokosuka in Yokosuka, Japan. During Operation Desert Storm, Kelly flew 39 combat missions. 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.

On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced his retirement from both the Navy and NASA, effective October 1, citing Gabby Giffords's needs during her recovery from the attempt on her life that January.

Spaceflight experience

STS-108

alt=Photo of STS-108 commander Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie and pilot Mark Kelly STS-108 Commander Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie and Pilot Mark Kelly, in their stations during rendezvous operations with the International Space Station, 2001

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. (center left) and Stephanie D. Wilson (center right), 2006

In July 2006, Kelly piloted STS-121 Discovery, the second "Return to Flight" mission after the loss of Columbia in February 2003. Because of weather delays, STS-121 became the first shuttle mission to launch on the Fourth of July. 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 astronaut Thomas Reiter 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 would be divided into two missions because of the addition of post-Columbia safety tests. —a reference to David Bowie's "Space Oddity"; 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.

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.

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.

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 to Houston in January after an attempted assassination. Her appearance at Kennedy Space Center gave the launch a high profile, "one of the most anticipated in years", according to The New York Times. President Barack Obama 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 Endeavours last. He and his crew delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the ISS.

Most of the mission's delays were caused by external tank issues on STS-133 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, 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 p.m. PDT on May 22, 2011, the European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency arranged for a call to Endeavour by Pope Benedict XVI. During his call, 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's "Space Oddity" and introduced U2's song "Beautiful Day" on the first night of the Glastonbury festival 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 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 near-space exploration company World View Enterprises. 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 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.

Speeches

From 2011 to 2016, Kelly delivered paid speeches in the U.S. and in China on behalf of Shaklee, a multi-level marketing distributor of nutritional supplements.

Separately, Kelly has also delivered paid speeches to bank Goldman Sachs, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and drug company AmerisourceBergen.

Political activism In January 2013, weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Kelly and Giffords started a nonprofit political action committee, Americans for Responsible Solutions (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 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". In 2016, ARS merged with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to become Giffords, which besides background checks advocates for red flag laws.

U.S. Senate (2020–present) Elections 2020 special

Kelly at the launch of his U.S. Senate campaign in downtown Phoenix in February 2019 On February 12, 2019, Kelly announced that he would run as a Democrat in the 2020 U.S. Senate special election in Arizona. Kelly declined to accept campaign contributions from corporate political action committees (PACs), but did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from corporate executives and lobbyists.

The Associated Press 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, 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 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, Harrison Schmitt, Bill Nelson, and Jack Swigert.

2022

Kelly was reelected in 2022, defeating Republican nominee Blake Masters 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. On December 9, Kelly voted "no" on a resolution blocking President Donald Trump from selling $23 billion in drones to the United Arab Emirates. Kelly split his vote by voting yes on another resolution blocking F-35 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 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, were signed into law by President Joe Biden. 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.

In November 2025, Kelly was one of six Democratic lawmakers to participate in a video reminding military service members that they may refuse "illegal orders". Later that month, President Trump called those in the video, including Kelly, traitors who should be charged with sedition and shared a social media post calling for them to be hanged.

On November 24, 2025, the United States Department of Defense announced that Kelly was under investigation after it received "serious allegations of misconduct" in relation to the "illegal orders" video. Kelly and the other lawmakers in the video subsequently received threats. He told CNN, "We get more threats now in a single day than we would get in months, and they're graphic, they're violent." Kelly raised $12.5 million in the final quarter of 2025. On January 5, 2026, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would pursue administrative measures against Kelly, including the reduction of his retirement pay, in response to his participation in the video. Kelly sued one week later, alleging that the actions violated the principles of protected free speech and legislative independence.

In February 2026, a grand jury declined to return an indictment against Kelly and the others for the video. Subsequently, Judge Richard J. Leon of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a temporary injunction against Hegseth's proposed actions on Kelly's rank and pension.

Committee assignments Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland (ranking member) Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (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 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 ' Political positions Kelly with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer on October 15, 2023 Kelly ran as a moderate in 2020 and voiced support for bipartisanship. 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 criticized Joe Biden's approach to border security. As of October 2022, Kelly had 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" and was endorsed by Planned Parenthood. He supports codifying Roe v. Wade'' 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 League of Conservation Voters gave him a 97% score in 2021. In a 2021 Greenpeace exposé, Kelly was one of 11 U.S. senators ExxonMobil 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 and Ruben Gallego) to vote to confirm Lee Zeldin as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator.

Israel Kelly has voiced strong support for Israel, saying on the Senate floor: "I cannot and will never abandon Israel. Israel is one of our closest partners. They have a right to defend themselves, and I will always support Israel's right to exist as a successful and prosperous nation."

Guns Kelly became an outspoken advocate for gun control after the attempted assassination of his wife, former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, in the 2011 Tucson mass shooting.

Healthcare Kelly supports building on the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) to include a public health insurance option. He opposes Medicare for All.

Immigration Kelly has expressed support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, saying, "Dreamers are as American as anyone."

In 2025, Kelly was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Donald Trump In February 2021, Kelly voted to convict Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial,

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 at Congregation Temple Chaverim in Tucson, Arizona, attended by his STS-124 shuttle crew and former secretary of labor Robert Reich. 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 as part of a trade mission sponsored by the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations. Giffords is Jewish. and said 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."

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 had been 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." 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, 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 and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, 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 in Washington, D.C. 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."

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.

Naval Pilot Astronaut BadgeDefense Superior Service Medal One oak leaf clusterLegion of MeritDistinguished Flying Cross One award starAir Medal Valor device and three service starsNavy Commendation Medal Valor device and one service starNavy Achievement MedalNavy Unit Commendation One service starNASA Outstanding Leadership MedalNASA Exceptional Service MedalNASA Space Flight Medal Three service starsNavy Expeditionary MedalNational Defense Service Medal One service starArmed Forces Expeditionary MedalSouthwest Asia Service Medal One service starSea Service Deployment Ribbon One service starOverseas Service RibbonNavy Marksmanship Medal–PistolKuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)