NASA Sets News Briefing With Astronaut Mark Kelly At 3 P.M.

NASA will stage a news conference at 3 p.m. EST today to announce whether astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt last month, will remain in command of the STS-134 mission in April.

My best guess is that Kelly indeed will lead the six-member STS-134 crew -- a job he has been training for since August 2009. Otherwise, Rick Sturckow, who NASA assigned as a backup after the shooting, would probably be among the talent at the news briefing.

Kelly will be joined by NASA Chief Astronaut Peggy Whitson and Brent Jett, director of the Flight Crew Operations Directorate at Johnson Space Center, where the news conference will be held. NASA's news advisory does not list Sturckow among those who will participate in the event.

You can watch the news briefing live here in The Flame Trench. Click the NASA TV box on the right side of the page to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage.