Rep. Giffords Recovering ‘Really Well,’ Husband Mark Kelly Says from Space

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Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is recovering well after a piece of her skull was repaired during surgery in Houston on Wednesday, reports her husband Mark Kelly, in an interview Thursday morning from space.

Kelly and four other astronauts — Pilot Gregory Johnson, mission specialists Andrew Feustel and Michael Fincke and International Space Station crew member Ron Garan — were interviewed by NewsHour science correspondent Miles O’Brien Thursday morning, as the International Space Station whipped around the earth at 17,500 mph.

When asked about Giffords, Kelly pulled a necklace from around his neck to reveal her wedding ring. The two exchanged rings before launch. “There it is,” he said. “I had a chance at the end of the day to call her mom and her chief of staff and my brother periodically as the surgery was going on, and it went really well. Everything went as planned, her neurosurgeons are very happy, she’s recuperating, and she’s actually getting back to therapy today.”

All crew members were wearing or holding turquoise “Peace Love Gabby” wristbands, several of which floated into the air mid-interview, along with Kelly’s microphone.

Watch more as crew members talk about future space travel, damage to tiles on the belly of the shuttle and zero-gravity somersaults here.