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.
Mrs Gifford's chief of staff Pia Carusone said her first words to staff following the launch were 'Good stuff, good stuff.'
She said: 'I think relief was her biggest feeling. She was very proud, and is always very proud, of Mark and what he does.
'There were hugs all around, absolutely. It was very celebratory. Her mom was with her watching the whole time,' Mrs Carusone revealed.
Earlier, the congresswoman had an emotional reunion with her spokesman Mark Kimble, who was standing just a few feet from Mrs Giffords when she was shot in January and had not seen her since.
He said: 'It was certainly a very emotional moment to see the congresswoman for the first time in about four months but it was also extremely inspirational.
'It was extremely encouraging. We have heard such good reports about her recovery, to actually see her and talk with her it was a very moving experience.'
As well as his wife's wedding ring, Cdr Kelly has taken with him a photograph of himself with his wife. It is hoped that Rep Giffords will be able to see and speak with her husband during the traditional video conference held for families of the crew part-way through the mission.
Speaking to CBS News, Mrs Carusone said earlier: 'Usually he [Mark] takes her wedding ring to space.
'So he took it from her a couple of days ago. But she wanted his.
'So, yesterday ... he gave her his ring.
'But his hands are a bit bigger than hers. So it didn't fit on her finger. So, he gave it to me to find a chain to give to her.
'So, I did last night. It's in my pocket and it will be around her neck as soon as I see her.'
She added that brave Mrs Giffords will be watching her husband from a private viewing area.
She said: 'She'll be watching with the other spouses.
'And with her will be her mom, and a nurse, which is just with her in case something happens. We don't expect anything would. But, that's it. Very small group.
Miss Giffords earlier travelled on a NASA jet with the family of pilot Gregory Johnson, another astronaut on the shuttle crew, to watch Endeavour from the private viewing area.
Doctors are amazed at the speed of Mrs Giffords recovery only months after the brutal shooting in January.
According to therapists she can form basic sentences such as 'I love you' and 'thank you', but more complex speech is extremely difficult.
NASA officials previously said the wiring problems that grounded the Endeavour last month have been overcome and conditions are expected to be good, with only a 30 per cent chance of a weather delay, largely due to crosswinds.
Kelly and his five crew mates waved, gave a thumbs-up and shook their fists in the air as they headed to the launch pad in the pre-dawn hours.
'Good to be aboard,' Kelly told launch controllers.
Miss Giffords arrived shortly after the protective structure that surrounds Endeavour was moved out of the way, a milestone in launch preparations that allowed fuelling to begin.
NASA said it is expecting 500,000 people turning up to watch the launch, down from 750,000 at the scrubbed first attempt.
Miss Giffords, 40, was critically wounded as she held a public meeting with constituents outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona.
Six people died in the mass shooting.
She has been recuperating at a hospital in Houston and her recovery has been described as remarkable.
The Arizona politican came for the April attempt, flew back to Houston to resume her rehabilitation work and even had dinner out with her husband.
Before her arrival at the Space Centre today, NASA put a large screen up to shield her from photographers.
The Endeavor, which will have a six-man crew, was built in the early 1990s to replace the space shuttle Challenger, which broke apart about a minute after take off in January 1986, killing all seven crew members.
The astronauts never made it to the launch pad last time. They posed at the base for a group picture Monday, before taking the elevator up and climbing into Endeavour.
'Took my last shower for a few weeks,' reported astronaut Mike Fincke in a tweet. 'The flight docs gave a good look-over. My only issue: too much boyish enthusiasm. (no known cure).'
Added pilot Gregory Johnson in his own Twitter update: 'I am really excited and charged up for this mission! Slept great.'
Endeavour is bound for the International Space Station one last time before heading to retirement at a Los Angeles museum.
Having clocked up 116.4 million miles in 24 flights, the Endeavour will have one last flight before it is retired and donated to a museum in Los Angeles.
One of its roles on this 16-day mission is to haul a $2 billion astronomy and physics experiment to the International Space Station.
The mission will include 4 spacewalks.
At a briefing at the Kennedy Space Centre on Sunday, shuttle launch managers were upbeat about the preparations.
Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said: 'The countdown is going extremely well and the team is ready to go.
'Tanking of the External Tank begins just prior to midnight. We are not working any issue at this time.'
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