NASA Career
Mark Kelly and his brother Scott were both selected to be Shuttle pilots by NASA in 1996. They joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in August of that year. Mark Kelly has logged over 38 days in space.
During his 2006 flight on Space Shuttle Discovery, the second mission after the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, Kelly discussed the risks of flying the Space Shuttle:
The Space Shuttle's a very complex machine. It's got a lot of moving parts that move and operate at pretty much the limit of what we've been able to engineer. Spaceflight is risky. I think with regards to the tank, we've reduced some of the risk there. We've changed the design a little bit and we've made some pretty big strides in trying to get foam not to shed from the tank anymore. So there is some risk reduction there and I guess overall the risk is probably a little less. But this is a risky business, but it's got a big reward. Everybody on board Discovery and the space station here thinks it's worthwhile.Read more about this topic: Mark Kelly (astronaut)
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