Hey John, it’s Mark Kelly.
Tomorrow, I have the honor of being inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame.
So, I thought I’d take a look back on how I got where I am today.
There are several paths to becoming an astronaut. This was mine:
After high school, I went to the US Merchant Marine Academy where I studied marine engineering and nautical science.
Then came flight school. I still remember driving through the gates at the Naval Air Station for the first time with “Danger Zone” playing on the tape deck.
At 23, I became a United States Naval Aviator. I deployed twice on the USS Midway and flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm.
It was dangerous. I had a lot of anti-aircraft artillery shot at me and I had a missile blow up next to my airplane. But we successfully completed every mission.
At 32, I was selected as an astronaut (with my twin brother, Scott). I flew my first mission into space in 2001, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Liftoff feels like being on a runaway train going 1,000 miles an hour.
Two days later, I took my first step onto the Space Station.
All in all, I spent more than 50 days in space over the course of four missions. That’s a lot of bad space food and hard work.
What I remember most from those four missions are the teams.
These flights are really hard to do. They’re tiring, full of long days doing technically difficult stuff.
But, I knew I could always rely on them to solve a tough problem and get the job done.
My service in the Navy and at NASA may be behind me, but I’m not done serving our country.
In the Senate, I go to work every day excited to deliver results for the people of Arizona.
And I’m going to keep reminding the American people that there is no nation on earth that can solve tough problems like we can — that we can do incredible things when we put aside our differences and come together.
I’m very proud that you’ve chosen to be a part of this team, John.
Can’t wait to see what we accomplish next.
— Mark
👨🚀 Wait! Don't go just yet. 🚀
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Mark Kelly was a Captain in the U.S. Navy and astronaut. Use of his military rank, job titles and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Navy or Department of Defense and reference to NASA does not imply endorsement by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
