Rep. Giffords flies to Florida to be present at Endeavor launch

The US Congresswoman could be first seen on Houston's KHOU-TV since she was shot in the head at a political meeting in Tucson, Arizona on January 8.

The strong-willed lawmaker, 40, put forward meticulous steps as she ascended the steps of a NASA jet flying her to Cape Canaveral. It is there she would see her husband, navy pilot and astronaut Mark Kelly, off on Endeavor's final mission- STS 134 - this Friday.

“Gab- by is looking forward to some time away from the rehab center and the chance to see Captain Mark Kelly launch again!” a Giffords’ staff posted on her Facebook wall.

Giffords recovering well
According to KHOU reports, Giffords was accompanied by some people included a nurse from TIRR Memorial Hermann, the medical rehabilitation she has been in since the tragedy, undergoing an intensive program. The merciless killing left 13 people injured and six dead, which included a federal judge and a girl, nine years of age.

The Memorial Hermann doctors monitoring her treatment asserted on Monday that her speech and walking are improving and that she is “medically able” to fly to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida as her husband pilots the space shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station.

"Attending the launch is an opportune time for her to continue her therapy progression," read a statement of Dr. Gerard Francisco, lead physician of the brain injury rehabilitation team.

"Her attending the launch is a goal that we were working toward, and we have achieved that end. She has made remarkable progress in her rehabilitation, and we saw no reason why she could not travel safely to Florida."

The Arizona Republic reported that Giffords performs rehabilitation with a grocery cart and a bowling ball. She is learning to use her left hand for writing.

The doctors plan to repair a region of her skull through a cranial implant in May.

Giffords to attend Friday afternoon launch
An exceptional feat has been achieved by Giffords as she would be present at the historic launch of Endeavor on Friday afternoon and an assured Kelly would fly into space being able to leave her bedside.

Kelly, 47, is already in the midst of preparations, having reached the Space Center on Tuesday

"She's been working really hard to make sure that her doctors would permit her to come," Kelly said.

Endeavour is scheduled for the liftoff at 3:47 p.m. CDT.

A little about Endeavor
Endeavour, by the way, has something intriguing about it. Its 10-year-old fuel tank has 103 patches, a consequence of its presence in a building in New Orleans at the time Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Over a hundred nicks were made in foam. All the same, NASA gave full assurance of its flight safety.

Endeavor will transport the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the space station, which will determine the veracity of the Big Bang Theory of the universe creation.

The Endeavor crew is to sport blue bracelets in Giffords' honour and after Kelly reaches space, he will read out a personal note by his wife. Like in the 2006 mission, the crew will again wake up to a song decided on by Giffords.

Mark Kelly reported that Gabby exclaimed "awesome" and fist-pumped when doctors gave her an approval to attend the launch, as per a transcript of an interview with CBS's Katie Couric aired on the Evening News on Monday.

The occasion would welcome U.S. President Barack Obama and the first lady at Cape Canaveral, alongwith Kelly's three daughters beside Giffords.