Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Able to Walk and Speak, Husband Mark Kelly Says

March 24, 2011— -- Two and a half months after suffering a gunshot wound to the head in Tucson, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is beginning to walk and talk, her husband Mark Kelly said today.

Kelly, an astronaut scheduled to command the next space shuttle mission in April, shared the good news with reporters at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston today, a short drive from the rehab center where Giffords is being treated for her brain injury.

Kelly shared details of Giffords' progress. He said the congresswoman receives daily briefings from her staff.

"She is improving every day, and in the realm of brain injuries, that is very significant and pretty rare," Kelly said.

Watch "World News with Diane Sawyer" for the latest on Giffords' condition tonight on ABC.

The astronaut also said his wife is also beginning to learn about the horrific shooting in Tucson on Jan. 8 that nearly took her life and killed six people, including a member of her congressional staff. Besides Giffords, a dozen others were injured in the attack, which happened while Giffords was meeting with constituents outside of a Safeway grocery store.

While Giffords apparently did not remember the attack, Kelly said that she is now beginning to cope with the tragedy.

"Despite that, she remains in a very good mood," he said.

The mission commander spoke to the press with members of his crew, who are set to fly space shuttle Endeavor's final mission next month. Pending "final approval" from her doctors, Giffords plans to watch the launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Kelly said, adding that there's a "pretty good chance" it will happen.

Kelly visits his wife every morning at TIRR Memorial-Hermann rehab hospital before heading to NASA for training, and he returns to the hospital every evening when he's done. At the press conference today, every member of the STS-134 crew was wearing a blue bracelet in honor of Giffords.