NASA Assigns STS-134 Backup Commander

HOUSTON — NASA Deputy Chief Astronaut Frederick “Rick” Sturckow will at least temporarily assume training duties for STS-134  Commander Mark Kelly, whose wife, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D), was among those critically wounded during the Jan. 8 shooting rampage at a political event in Tucson, Ariz.

Kelly, who urged NASA to take the measures that led to Sturckow’s assignment as backup commander, hopes to resume his preparations and lead the 14-day flight, which has been rescheduled from an April 1 liftoff to April 19.

“I am very hopeful that I will be in a position to rejoin my STS-134 crewmembers to finish our training,” Kelly said in a statement. “I recommended to my management that we take steps now to prepare to complete the mission in my absence, if necessary.”

Kelly has been at his wife’s side at University Medical Center in Tucson since shortly after the shooting.

Sturckow is a four-time shuttle veteran, including the command of space station assembly missions in 2009 and 2007.

“Mark is still the commander of STS-134,” says NASA Chief Astronaut Peggy Whitson. “He is facing many uncertainties now as he supports Gabrielle, and our goal is to allow him to keep his undistracted attention on his family while allowing preparations for the mission to progress.”

Training Schedule

Giffords, who underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the head, is expected to survive and is responding to Kelly and her medical teams.

Sturckow and the five veteran astronauts assigned to Endeavour for what is NASA’s final scheduled shuttle flight will begin training together next week. The Endeavour crew will equip the station with the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, an external astronomical observatory for studies of cosmic rays and dark matter.

Also on Jan. 13, shuttle managers firmed up the launch dates for Discovery’s 11-day STS-133 assembly mission to the station, as well as the STS-134 flight. The target dates were previewed by top NASA officials on Jan. 10-11.

Discovery is set to lift off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Feb. 24 at 4:50 p.m. EST, with six astronauts, a station storage module and an external platform to secure spare parts. Endeavour’s April 19 liftoff is set for 7:48 p.m. EDT.