HOUSTON — Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was headed by plane from Houston to Florida on Wednesday morning in advance of astronaut husband Mark Kelly's space shuttle launch on Friday, according to her office.

"Gabby is looking forward to some time away from the rehab center & the chance to see @ShuttleCDRKelly launch again," said a post Wednesday morning on her Twitter account.

The outing to watch Kelly, commander of NASA's next-to-last shuttle mission, take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marks the first extended trip the Arizona Democrat has made from a hospital environment since she was shot during a meeting with constituents at a Tucson, Arizona supermarket on Jan. 8.

His wife's trip out for the shuttle launch is "something she's been looking forward to for a long time," Kelly said. "She's been working really hard to make sure that her doctors would permit her to come. She's more than medically ready to be here, and she's excited about making this trip."

Read more here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42782741/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Glad shes up and about now, I hope she makes a full recovery

Date: April 29
Mission: STS-134
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 3:47 p.m. EDT
STS-134 Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station.

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

Lots of us in Houston are holding our breath and will continue to do so until Endeavour clears Earth orbit and WE take over!

NASA: Endeavour's earliest launch will be end of week

Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN) -- A plan to launch the space shuttle Endeavour on Monday has been scrubbed, and a new launch likely will not come before the end of the week at the earliest, officials said Sunday.

Endeavour's final launch was delayed by at least 72 hours Friday because of concerns about the shuttle's heating system. Monday was the earliest possible liftoff date following the delay.

As part of NASA's examination of the problem, officials said, the external fuel tank was drained of its hydrogen and oxygen propellants Friday night.

A new launch date has not been set, Mission Management Team chairman Mike Moses told reporters Sunday, but "it's not going to be any earlier than the 8th."

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/01/nasa.endeavour/index.html?hpt=T2

Space shuttle Endeavour lifts off

Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN) -- The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off on its last mission Monday morning, NASA said.

The shuttle's mission is commanded by Mark Kelly. His wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, arrived safely at the Kennedy Space Center Sunday, NASA said, four months after being shot in the head during an assassination attempt at a public event in Tucson, Arizona.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/16/nasa.shuttle.endeavour/index.html?hpt=C1

Last flight for the Shuttle Fleet...

What an amazing ride it has been

Kelly says wife doing well after skull surgery


Houston doctors said Thursday they hope to see an acceleration in U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ recovery in the aftermath of Wednesday’s successful surgery to implant a cerebral shunt and skull piece.

The doctors said Giffords, shot in the head in a January assassination attempt, will spend a few more days at Memorial Hermann Hospital before being transferred back to TIRR Memorial Hermann to continue her rehab. They gave no target date for her discharge.

"We may be able to upgrade her rehab when she gets back," said Dr. Gerard Francisco, chief of Giffords’ care at TIRR Memorial Hermann. He said the shunt doctors inserted can give parts of the brain more of an opportunity to heal.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7571527.html#ixzz1MpwieHKn

It's good to hear how well she is doing, I hope she can come back fully.

Endeavour completes final mission; one flight left for NASA

Kennedy Space Center, Florida (CNN) -- The space shuttle Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Wednesday, completing its 25th and final mission -- the next-to-last mission for NASA's 30-year-old space shuttle program.

"Welcome home, Endeavour," Mission Control in Houston said.

The spacecraft touched down at 2:34 a.m. ET at the end of a nearly 16-day mission to the International Space station.

"It's sad to see her land for the last time, but she really has a great legacy," said Cmdr. Mark Kelly after Endeavour rolled to a stop in the darkness of a warm Florida morning.

The youngest of the shuttles retires after 25 space flights. During 299 days in space, Endeavour orbited the earth 4,671 times and logged almost 122.9 million miles, NASA said. It first went into service in 1993.

Endeavour unlocked from the International Space Station late Sunday after spending more than 11 days linked to the orbiting laboratory, where the astronauts installed a cosmic ray detector. The $2 billion, 15,000-pound machine is already at work "gathering information that could improve our understanding of the universe," Kelly said.

"The retirement of Endeavour and the shuttle fleet will not end the human need to explore," Kelly said in comments from space that were posted on NASA's website. "It is and always will be part of who we are. The United States will build other spaceships better than those of today. Even if they are years in the future, they will nevertheless increase our knowledge of the world, generate an enormous benefit to the economy and inspire our children."

On July 8, space shuttle Atlantis is to make NASA's final shuttle flight.

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/01/nasa.endeavour.lands/index.html?hpt=hp_t1