Post-NASA Plans
On June 21, 2011, Kelly announced that he would be leaving NASA's astronaut corps and the U.S. Navy effective October 1. He cited the needs of his wife during her recovery as a reason for his retirement. Kelly and Giffords announced plans for a joint memoir which would include a discussion of the Tucson shooting. The book was released by Scribner in November 2011. Kelly's retirement has raised speculation that he might run for office in 2012 either for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Jon Kyl who is retiring, or for his wife's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives if her health condition prevents her from running for re-election. Kelly says he is not running for office but he also has not ruled out the possibility.
He plans to make public speaking appearances after his retirement. Kelly says that he will discuss his career as an astronaut and share his and Giffords's "story with audiences in a way that will allow healing and strength to emerge from a tragic event, and to remind everyone about the resiliency of the human spirit."
On March 28, 2012 SpaceX announced that Mark Kelly would be part of an independent safety advisory panel composed of leading human spaceflight safety experts.
Read more about this topic: Mark Kelly (astronaut)
Famous quotes containing the word plans:
“In order to become spoiled ... a child has to be able to want things as well as need them. He has to be able to see himself as a being who is separate from everyone else.... A baby is none of these things. He feels a need and he expresses it. He is not intellectually capable of working out involved plans and ideas like “Can I make her give me...?” “If I make enough fuss he will...?” “They let me do ... yesterday and I want to do it again today so I’ll....””
—Penelope Leach (20th century)