Scott Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Kelly at theJohnson Space Center in 2019 | |
| Born | Scott Joseph Kelly (1964-02-21)February 21, 1964 (age 61) Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Mark Kelly (identical twin brother) Gabby Giffords (sister-in-law) |
| Space career | |
| Rank | Captain,USN |
Time in space | 520d[1] |
| Selection | NASA Group 16 (1996) |
TotalEVAs | 3 |
Total EVA time | 18h 20m |
| Missions | STS-103 STS-118 Soyuz TMA-01M (Expedition 25/26) Soyuz TMA-16M/Soyuz TMA-18M (Expedition 43/44/45/46,ISS year-long mission) |
Mission insignia |          |
| Retirement | April 1, 2016[2] |
Scott Joseph Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American engineer, retiredastronaut, andnaval aviator. A veteran of four space flights, Kelly commanded theInternational Space Station (ISS) on Expeditions26,45, and46.
Kelly's first spaceflight was aspilot ofSpace Shuttle Discovery duringSTS-103 in December 1999. This was the third servicing mission to theHubble Space Telescope, and lasted for just under eight days.[3] Kelly's second spaceflight was as mission commander ofSTS-118, a 12-day Space Shuttle mission to the ISS in August 2007.[4] Kelly's third spaceflight was as a crewmember onExpedition 25/26 on the ISS. He arrived at the ISS aboardSoyuz TMA-01M on October 9, 2010, and served as a flight engineer until he took over command of the station on November 25, 2010, at the start ofExpedition 26.[5][6][7] Expedition 26 ended on March 16, 2011, with the departure ofSoyuz TMA-01M.[8]
In November 2012, Kelly and Russian cosmonautMikhail Kornienko were selected for ayear-long mission to the ISS.[9][10] Their year in space began with the launch ofSoyuz TMA-16M on March 27, 2015, and they remained on the station for Expeditions43,44, 45, and 46. The mission ended on March 1, 2016, with the departure ofSoyuz TMA-18M from the station.[11][12]
Kelly retired from NASA on April 1, 2016.[13] Hisidentical twin brother,Mark Kelly, is also a retired astronaut, and the seniorU.S. senator fromArizona.[14][15]
Scott Kelly was born, along with his identical twin brotherMark, on February 21, 1964, inOrange, New Jersey, to Patricia (McAvoy) and Richard Kelly.[16] Kelly's family lived inWest Orange, where his parents worked as police officers.[17] Kelly and his brother graduated from West Orange Mountain High School (New Jersey) in 1982. While in high school, Kelly worked as anemergency medical technician in Orange andJersey City, New Jersey.[18]: 32–41 [11]
After graduating from high school, Kelly enrolled at theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County. During his first year, Kelly readThe Right Stuff byTom Wolfe, and was inspired to pursue a career innaval aviation.[18]: 40–41 After his first year, Kelly transferred toState University of New York Maritime College, where he received aNaval Reserve Officers Training Corps (Navy ROTC) scholarship. During the summer after his first year, Kelly sailed aboard SUNY Maritime's training ship,Empire State V, and stopped inMallorca, Hamburg, and London. After his second year, Kelly sailed again onEmpire State V.[18]: 55–66 He served as the student battalion commander for his school's Navy ROTC detachment, and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree inelectrical engineering in 1987.[18]: 107–110 Kelly later earned a Master of Science degree in aviations systems from theUniversity of Tennessee.[19]
After graduation, Kelly was commissioned as anensign in theUnited States Navy. He completed his initial flight school atNAS Pensacola, where he flew theT-34 Mentor propeller driven trainer plane, after which he was selected to fly jets.[18]: 110–120 In 1988, he moved toBeeville, Texas, for jet trainingNaval Air Station Chase Field, where he trained on theT-2 Buckeye and theA-4 Skyhawk. He graduated as anaval aviator in 1989, and was assigned to fly theF-14 Tomcat.[18]: 152–157 He reported toVF-101 atNaval Air Station Oceana,Virginia, for initial F-14 training. Upon completion of this training in September 1990, he was assigned toVF-143, and deployed to the North Atlantic andPersian Gulf aboard the aircraft carrierUSS Dwight D. Eisenhower.[18]: 157–164
In January 1993, Kelly was selected to attend theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School atNaval Air Station Patuxent River,Maryland. His classmates included his brother, Mark, and other future astronautsAlvin Drew,Lisa Nowak, andStephen Frick. He graduated in June 1994 and was assigned to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at Patuxent River. One of his initial assignments was to investigate the F-14 crash that killedKara Hultgreen. His assessment was to create a digital flight control system that would have saved Hultgreen's life. This resulted in the acceleration of one's development, and he was the first pilot to fly the F-14 with the digital flight control system installed.[18]: 166–170
After attaining the rank ofcaptain in the U.S. Navy, Kelly retired from active duty on June 19, 2012, after 25 years of naval service. He flew over 8,000 hours in more than 40 aircraft and accomplished over 250 carrier landings throughout his naval career.[11]
In 1995, Kelly and his brother applied toNASA to become astronauts. He and Mark were selected to become astronaut candidates in April 1996; the first relatives to be selected in NASA history. In July 1996, Kelly moved to Houston, and began training inAstronaut Group 16 at theJohnson Space Center. On completion of training, he was assigned to work on the caution and warning system on board the International Space Station.[18]: 195–196, 204–207, 211
After Kelly's first flight onSTS-103, he served as NASA's director of operations inStar City, Russia.[18]: 237–238 He served as back-up crew member to Peggy Whitson for ISSExpedition 5, and toTracy Caldwell Dyson onExpedition 23/24.[18]: 242–244, 290 [20] After theSpace ShuttleColumbia disaster, Kelly coordinated airplane and helicopter searches for debris.[18]: 251–253 He also served as the Astronaut Office Space Station Branch Chief.[11]
In September 2002, Kelly served as the commander of theNEEMO 4 mission aboard theAquarius underwater laboratory, 4 mi offshore fromKey Largo. The NEEMO 4 crew spent five dayssaturation diving fromAquarius as aspace analog for working and training under extreme environmental conditions. The mission was delayed due toHurricane Isidore, reducing the underwater duration to five days.[21] In April 2005, Kelly was a crew member on the three-dayNEEMO 8 mission. During the NEEMO 8 mission, the crew practiced construction while conducting anextravehicular activity (EVA) using aremotely operated underwater vehicle, and training with the Exploration Planning Operations Center at the Johnson Space Center.[22]
In March 1999, Kelly was assigned to STS-103 as a pilot aboardDiscovery, under command ofCurt Brown, on a mission to install new instruments and upgraded systems on theHubble Space Telescope (HST).Discovery launched on December 19, 1999, and rendezvoused with the HST after 40 orbits. The STS-103 mission specialists conducted three EVAs to replace gyroscopes and a transmitter, and to install a new computer guidance sensor and recorder. On December 25, 1999, the crew celebrated the only Christmas holiday of the Space Shuttle in orbit with a reading by Curt Brown. After 119 orbits,Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center on December 27, 1999.[18]: 214–230 [3]
After completing his assignment as a back-up member for ISS Expedition 5 in 2002, Kelly was assigned as commander ofSTS-118 aboardEndeavour. After the Space ShuttleColumbia disaster, STS-118 was delayed until August 2007. STS-118 launched on August 8, 2007. During the launch, the orbiter was struck by nine pieces of foam from theexternal tank just asColumbia had been on its final, fatal mission. The underside ofEndeavour was examined by cameras on the robotic arm and the ISS, and was assessed to not be dangerously damaged. The Shuttle successfully docked with the ISS on August 10.Endeavour's crew successfully added a truss segment, an external spare-parts platform, and a control moment gyroscope to the ISS. The mission was extended to 14 days while testing a new system that enabled docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station. During the mission, four EVAs to install the new equipment were completed. The mission was ended a day early because of the approach ofHurricane Dean towards Houston. STS-118 completed 201 orbits, and landed on August 21, 2007, at theKennedy Space Center, after 12 days, 17 hours, 55 minutes, and 34 seconds.[23][18]: 246, 259–262 [4][24]
In late 2007, Kelly was assigned to Expeditions 25 and 26.[18]: 262–263 [25] Kelly lifted off aboardSoyuz TMA-01M from theBaikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:10 pm EDT on October 7, 2010, along with cosmonautsAleksandr Kaleri andOleg Skripochka.[26] TMA-01M was the first launch of an updated model of theSoyuz spacecraft, and featured improved guidance, environmental control, and flight-control systems.[27][28] Kelly, Kaleri, and Skripochka arrived at the ISS on October 9, 2010, and joined CommanderDouglas H. Wheelock and flight engineersShannon Walker andFyodor Yurchikhin on Expedition 25.[5]
During Kelly's time aboard the ISS, the crew supported about 115 scientific experiments, including an improved water-recycling machine, the Boiler Experiment Facility to test heat transfer in microgravity, and a Japanese experiment to research vegetable growth in microgravity. During Expedition 25, cosmonauts Yurchikhin and Skripochka conducted an EVA to install a workstation on theZvezda module, install handrails, and removed three Russian experiments.[25] The crew of Expedition 24/25 returned to Earth on November 25, 2010, aboardSoyuz TMA-19; Wheelock transferred command of the station to Kelly.[29]
On December 17, 2010,Soyuz TMA-20 arrived at the station with the crew of Expedition 26/27 cosmonautDmitri Kondratyev, NASA astronautCatherine Coleman, and ESA astronautPaolo Nespoli.[30] The crew ofSTS-133 aboardDiscovery arrived at the station February 26, 2011. The crew of STS-133 performed two EVAs to replace a pump and install thePermanent Multipurpose Module.Discovery undocked from the ISS on March 7, 2011, and landed for the final time two days later.[31]
On January 8, 2011, while Kelly was on the ISS, Kelly's sister-in-law CongresswomanGabby Giffords wasshot in Tucson.Soyuz TMA-01M landed in Kazakhstan on March 16, 2011, and Kelly traveled toTIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston to see Giffords and Mark.[8][32] Mark was the commander ofSTS-134, the final flight ofEndeavour, and launched on May 16, 2011, with Giffords in attendance.[18]: 300–301, 308–309 STS-134 had originally been scheduled to launch in February 2011, which would have made the Kelly brothers the first twins to fly together in space.[33][34]
NASA began planning for a year-long mission aboard the ISS following a Russian announcement for a similar mission. The primary goal of theyear-long expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory was to better understand theeffects of spaceflight on the human body.[35] In November 2012, Kelly was selected for a one-year mission to the ISS, but was medically disqualified the following day due to hisvision worsening in microgravity. Kelly appealed to NASA, and was reselected for the mission along with cosmonautMikhail Kornienko.[18]: 309–312
Kelly, Kornienko, andGennady Padalka launched aboardSoyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from theBaikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:42 pm EDT on March 27, 2015.[10][36][37]TMA-16M docked with the ISS at 9:36 pm EDT, and the crew joined the Expedition 43 crew of commanderTerry Virts and flight engineersAnton Shkaplerov andSamantha Cristoforetti. Once aboard, the crew performed scientific experiments, including evaluations of the fluid shifts in their bodies to determine their effects on eyesight, and repeated collections of blood and urine for chemical analysis.[38] During Expedition 43, the ISS received supplies from the SpaceX DragonCRS-6 mission, but lost their resupply due to the failure of the RussianProgress 59 spacecraft.[39][40] Expedition 44 began on June 11, 2015, when Virts transferred command of the ISS to Padalka, andSoyuz TMA-15Mlanded in Kazakhstan at 9:44 am EDT.[41]
Soyuz TMA-17M docked with the ISS on July 22, 2015, bringing NASA astronautKjell Lindgren, Russian cosmonautOleg Kononenko, andJAXA astronautKimiya Yui to join Expedition 44.[42] During Expedition 44, the ISS was resupplied by the JAXAHTV-5 and the RussianProgress 60 vehicles; the crew experienced another loss of a resupply mission with the SpaceXCRS-7failure.[43][44][45] On August 28, 2016, the crew ofSoyuz TMA-16M undocked and subsequently docked the spacecraft to a different port to prepare for the arrival ofSoyuz TMA-18M.[46]Soyuz TMA-18M docked with the ISS on September 4, 2015, bringing Russian cosmonautSergey Volkov, ESA astronautAndreas Mogensen, and Kazakh cosmonautAidyn Aimbetov to the station.[47] One of SoyuzTMA-18M's missions was to deliver a newSoyuz to the station for the return of Kelly, Korniyenko, and Volkov in March 2016; they could not return onSoyuz TMA-16M due to the 200-day orbital lifespan of aSoyuz.[48] Padalka, Mogensen, and Aimbetov departed from the ISS on September 11, 2015, and landed in Kazakhstan inSoyuz TMA-16M.[49]
Expedition 45 began on September 11, 2015, when Padalka transferred command of the station to Kelly.[49] During the expedition, the ISS crew was resupplied by theProgress 61and theCygnus CRS OA-4 missions.[50][51] On October 28, 2015, Kelly and Lindgren performed an EVA to service theCanada Arm 2, theAlpha Magnetic Spectrometer, and to install cables for theInternational Docking Adapter for theBoeing CST-100 Starliner andSpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.[52][53] Kelly and Lindgren performed a second EVA on November 6, 2015, to service the ammonia cooling system on the P6 truss.[54] Expedition 46 began on December 11, 2015, with the departure ofSoyuz TMA-17M, carrying Lindgren, Kononenko, and Yui.[55]
On December 15, 2015, NASA astronautTimothy Kopra, ESA astronautTimothy Peake, and Russian cosmonautYuri Malenchenko joined Expedition 46 as flight engineers afterSoyuz TMA-19M docked with the ISS.[56] On December 21, 2015, Kelly and Kopra performed an unscheduled EVA to release the brake handles on the Mobile Transporter rail car for the Canada Arm 2, which had unexpectedly stopped when it was remotely commanded by the flight controllers.[53][57] After the successful repair of the Mobile Transporter, the ISS crew was resupplied on December 23, 2015, by theProgress 62 spacecraft.[58] On January 15, 2016, Kopra and Peake performed another EVA and successfully replaced a voltage regulator, but were forced to return early after water began forming inside of Kopra's helmet.[59] On January 8, 2016, Kelly appeared in thethank-you note segment ofThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with the first ever thank-you note from space.[60] Russian cosmonauts Malenchenko and Volkov conducted an EVA on February 3, 2016, to retrieve experiments and photograph the exterior portions of the Russian segment of the station.[61] On March 1, 2016, Kelly transferred command of the ISS to Kopra, and returned to Earth alongside Korniyenko and Volkov aboardSoyuz TMA-18M. The spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan, and Kelly returned to Houston the following day.[62][63]
In addition to the biological tests conducted on all astronauts on the station, Kelly also participated in comparative study on the effects of spaceflight with his identical twin Mark as the groundcontrol subject. Kelly's cognitive, and genetic traits were measured before and after the flight. Within several months after returning to Earth, Kelly had adapted to living in gravity. Genetic tests revealed changes in Kelly's gene expression, and an increase in the length of histelomeres relative to before his flight.[64][65][66]
On March 12, 2016, Kelly announced his retirement from NASA, effective April 1, 2016.[2] On November 20, 2016, Kelly was appointed United Nations Champion for Space by theUnited Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), to assist in raising awareness of UNOOSA outreach and activities.[67][68] In November 2017, a memoir by Kelly was released, calledEndurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery.[18][69] On June 19, 2018, Kelly spoke at the UNISPACE50+ conference inVienna, expressing his views on the possibilities of human potential:
"After spending a year in space, I was absolutely inspired that if we can dream it, we can do it...and most importantly, if we work as a team, because teamwork makes the dream work. The sky is not the limit."[70]
On April 25, 1992, Kelly married for the first time, to Leslie (née Yandell), whom he had met while stationed in Virginia Beach.[18]: 160, 165–166 Together, they have two children.[18]: 168, 255 Kelly and Leslie divorced in 2010.[18]: 268–271 In July 2018, Kelly married Amiko Kauderer, a public affairs officer for NASA.[71][72] His sister-in-law isGabby Giffords, a former congresswoman from Arizona.[18]: 262
In 2007, Kelly was successfully treated forprostate cancer. After Kelly received his diagnosis, his brother Mark was also diagnosed and successfully treated.[18]: 263–265
On October 27, 2022, Kelly became an ambassador for theUNITED24 project.[73] In the project, Kelly will help the "Medical Aid" department to collect funds for C-class ambulances.[74] Doctors need several hundred such vehicles, because many ambulances were destroyed during theRussian-Ukrainian war.
Kelly has received these awards and decorations:[11]
 | United States Naval Astronaut Badge |
Kelly received an honorary Korolev Diploma from theFederation Aeronautique Internationale (1999) and an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from theState University of New York (2008).[11] Kelly was featured on the cover ofTime on December 29, 2014.[75] In 2015, Kelly was listed as one of theTime 100 Most Influential People.[76]
Kelly is an associate fellow of theSociety of Experimental Test Pilots and a member of theAssociation of Space Explorers.[11]
On March 9, 2022, during2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kelly tweeted he will return his Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" by mailing it to Russian embassy in Washington, telling former Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev to give it to "a Russian mother whose son has died in this unjust war" instead.[77] Kelly and Lt. GeneralMark Hertling, United States Army (retired), tweeted instructions for Russian soldiers to sabotage theirT-72 main battle tanks.[78]
On October 27, 2022, Kelly become the ambassador of theUnited24 (@u24_gov_ua) fundraising platform and will develop the "Medical aid" direction. His first project will be fundraising for Type Cambulance vehicles.[79]
| Preceded by | ISS Expedition Commander November 26, 2010, to March 16, 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | ISS Expedition Commander September 11, 2015, to March 1, 2016 | Succeeded by |
NASA Astronaut Group 15 ← NASA Astronaut Group 16 →NASA Astronaut Group 17 | |||||||
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United24 ambassadors | ||
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