WEST ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey school is changing its name to honor identical twin brothers and former students who went into space.
Retired astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly will be on hand as the Pleasantdale Elementary School in West Orange becomes the Kelly Elementary School during a ceremony on Thursday.
The 52-year-old brothers grew up in the town and went through the public school system before becoming Navy pilots and NASA astronauts.
Scott retired in March, shortly after completing a 340-day mission at the International Space Station, the longest single spaceflight by an American. Scott has spent 520 days in space over four missions, also a U.S. record.
Mark flew four missions on the space shuttle, commanding NASA's next-to-last shuttle flight in 2011 and then retiring. He is married to former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
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This story has been corrected to show Scott Kelly completed the 340-day mission at the International Space Station, not Mark.
