re: #27 jaunte

Weasel Zippers:

Of course they won’t respect an elected Rep if she’s a Democrat, but when did astronauts become lesser beings to conservatives?

Captain Mark Kelly, US Navy

EXPERIENCE: In December 1987, Kelly became a naval aviator and received initial training on the A-6E Intruder attack aircraft. He was then assigned to VA-115 (Attack Squadron 115) in Atsugi, Japan, and made two deployments to the Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier USS Midway, flying 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. After receiving his master’s degree, he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School from June 1993 to June 1994. He has logged more than 5,000 hours in more than 50 different aircraft and has over 375 carrier landings.

At this time, Kelly remains on active duty. He is on loan to NASA and holds the rank of Captain in the U.S. Navy.

On Tuesday, June 21, 2011, Kelly announced his retirement from the U.S. Navy, and NASA, effective October 1, 2011…

Kelly traveled over 5.28 million miles and orbited the Earth 202 times over 12 days and 18+ hours…