spacetoday.net: Congresswoman, astronaut's wife shot in Tucson

Congresswoman, astronaut's wife shot in Tucson

Posted: Sun, Jan 9, 2011, 10:30 AM ET (1530 GMT)
A member of Congress married to a NASA astronaut was shot and critically wounded Saturday morning in Tucson. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was one of 18 people shot by a single gunman outside a grocery store in Tucson, where Giffords was meeting with the public. Giffords, shot once in the head, was in critical condition at a Tucson hospital, but surgeons said they were "very optimistic" about her recovery. Six people were killed in the shooting. Giffords is married to NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, who is slated to command the STS-134 shuttle mission this spring. Kelly's brother, Scott, also an astronaut, is currently commanding the International Space Station. Giffords spent the previous two years as the chair of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee