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He is her real-life Captain Kirk. And as Mark Kelly and the rest of the Endeavour crew uttered the words 'Beam me up Scotty' for the final time, they were blasted into outer space, with Gabriel Giffords watching proudly from a private viewing area.
As the six-man crew went boldly where many men have gone before, all eyes were on the shot Congresswoman's husband, who clutched a note addressed to her 'sweetie pie'.
And before the men were launched into orbit, they made time for a little humour - by posing as the crew from the Science Fiction franchise Star Trek.
Creating custom mission posters based on popular movies has long been a tradition for NASA shuttle and space station crews.
And the six-man STS-134 crew of Endeavour were sure to choose something a bit more space-age than usual: the 2009 reboot of Star Trek: The Future Begins, directed by J.J. Abrams.
Saying their last goodbye as the crew made their final voyage into space, Mrs Giffords asked for her husband's wedding ring to wear on a chain around her neck, on a break from their usual pre-launch ritual.
As the shuttle's main engines cut, marking a safe arrival in space, Mark Kelly's identical twin brother presented Rep Giffords with a vase of red tulips, pre-ordered by her husband as she sat on the roof of the space centre's Launch Control Centre, while his daughters from his first marriage, Claudia, 15, and Claire, 13, each got a single red rose.
Mrs Giffords was surrounded by her mother, a nurse and other crew spouses as they watched the launch of Endeavour's final mission.
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