RECOVERY

Source: Mark Kelly Will Fly Space Shuttle

Husband of Rep. Giffords’ plans had been put on hold.

Mark Kelly, husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will command the space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission this April, a source told Politico Thursday. Kelly is expected to make a formal announcement Friday. Kelly had previously been chosen to command the mission, but he’d put his plans on hold while Giffords recovered from her near-fatal gunshot wound to the head. Since being shot in an assassination attempt that killed six people, Giffords has steadily improved and been moved to a rehabilitation center in Houston, where Kelly is stationed for NASA. Kelly joined President Obama and Congress at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning, where the president said, “I want Gabby and Mark and their entire family to know that we are with them for the long haul.”