Mark Edward Kelly is a U.S. Senator from Arizona (D), elected in the 2020 special election (defeating Martha McSally) and sworn in on December 2, 2020, with reelection in 2022. He describes himself as an 'independent leader' focusing on working families over corporate interests and has been considered for vice president while contemplating a presidential run. A former NASA astronaut selected in 1996 (Group 16), Kelly commanded the final Space Shuttle mission (STS-134 on Endeavour in 2011) among four flights (STS-108 pilot in 2001, STS-121 pilot in 2006, STS-124 commander in 2008) before retiring from NASA on October 1, 2011. He is also a retired U.S. Navy Captain (1986-2011), having flown 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm aboard USS Midway with Attack Squadron 115 (VA-115), logging over 5,000 flight hours in more than 50 aircraft types and over 375 carrier landings; his awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and multiple Air Medals. Born in Orange, New Jersey, and raised in West Orange as the son of police officers Richard Kelly and Patricia Kelly (née McAvoy), he has an identical twin brother, Scott Kelly, also a former NASA astronaut. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science in marine engineering and nautical science (1986, highest honors) from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, a Master of Science in aeronautical engineering (1994) from the Naval Postgraduate School, and completed U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (1993-1994). In his personal life, he was married to Amelia Babis from 1989 to 2004, with whom he has daughters Claudia and Claire, and married U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords on November 10, 2007, in Tucson, Arizona; following Giffords' 2011 assassination attempt, Kelly retired from NASA and the Navy to support her recovery. He co-founded Americans for Responsible Solutions (2013, later Giffords PAC) with Giffords to advocate for gun control, including universal background checks. Financially, his estimated net worth is $20.4 million (2025 projection), with pre-politics income including $1.8 million in speaking fees and $1.5 million in aerospace consulting (as of 2019); he held over $100,000 in World View Enterprises stocks (2021, in blind trust) and declines corporate PAC donations but accepts from executives and lobbyists. Legally, on January 12, 2026, he sued the Department of Defense and Secretary Pete Hegseth for alleged retaliation—including retirement pay reduction—stemming from a November 2025 video urging service members to refuse illegal orders; a federal judge granted a temporary injunction in February 2026, which Hegseth is appealing, with no criminal record. Kelly has authored books as a writer.