Mark Kelly Has a Tough Decision to Make

And he's planning the announcement tomorrow:

Astronaut Mark Kelly is expected to make a space shuttle announcement tomorrow. He is the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in Arizona several weeks ago. Tomorrow he will let the world know if he will command NASA’s final space shuttle mission that is slated to blast off in April.

According to Sen. Bill Nelson, a friend of Kelly and a former astronaut himself, said that it is “reasonable to expect” Kelly to be the commander on the final shuttle Endeavor mission. The reason is because his wife has made a remarkable recovery.

Nelson, who spoke with Kelly earlier today, said, “He's going to make his announcement tomorrow. I don't know what that's going to be. It is a tough decision for him but I think it's reasonable to expect that he will go on to command this mission in April, because I think Gabby is significantly improving every day.”

If Mark Kelly does decide to command the mission, he will begin training next week, but he would still be near Giffords, as she recovers in Houston. That would be a plus for the couple.

I fully expect that Kelly will take the Shuttle mission. His wife is doing remarkably well (from what I hear) and this will be the final Space Shuttle mission. Although I'm sure NASA will stay out of the decision, you just have to know they very badly want him in the commander's seat because of the P.R. value if nothing else.

UPDATE from Politico:

Mark Kelly, husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will fly the space shuttle Endeavour's final mission in April, according to a source familiar with the decision.