--- title: Charlotte Kelly: My Dad Is 'Out of This World' description: Charlotte Kelly turns 12 at the same time her dad marks the halfway point of his year in space canonical: https://time.com/4041315/astronaut-kellys-daughter-my-dad-is-out-of-this-world/ author: Charlotte Kelly article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-18T22:52:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:45.502Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Astronaut Kelly's Daughter: A Birthday With My Dad in Space og:description: Charlotte Kelly turns 12 at the same time her dad marks the halfway point of his year in space og:url: https://time.com/4041315/astronaut-kellys-daughter-my-dad-is-out-of-this-world/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf65d0ae1a2c8a32a/6987ee88cd1bba4a226f9514/150505_charlotte_tout.jpg?branch=production&width=462&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 462 og:image:height: 260 og:image:alt: 150505_charlotte_tout og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Astronaut Kelly's Daughter: A Birthday With My Dad in Space twitter:description: Charlotte Kelly turns 12 at the same time her dad marks the halfway point of his year in space twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf65d0ae1a2c8a32a/6987ee88cd1bba4a226f9514/150505_charlotte_tout.jpg?branch=production&width=462&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Astronaut Kelly's Daughter: A Birthday With My Dad in Space > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: A Year in Space: The Mission [Watch (HLS stream): A Year in Space: The Mission](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gEqrnCPI.m3u8) (3:59)  _Published 2015-03-24. On March 28, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly begins a historic year in Space. Time follows Kelly and his twin brother, Mark, as they work the test the boundaries of long-term space travel._ by [Charlotte Kelly](https://time.com/author/charlotte-kelly/) ## Charlotte Kelly Sep 18, 2015 10:52 PM UTC  Scott Kelly and Charlotte Kelly Scott Kelly and Charlotte Kelly Courtesy Virginia Beach City Public Schools by [Charlotte Kelly](https://time.com/author/charlotte-kelly/) ## Charlotte Kelly Sep 18, 2015 10:52 PM UTC In a few days I will have reached the six-month mark of seeing my dad off on his greatest adventure. Some might say that it is the ultimate adventure, but to my dad and our family, it’s just another day of him at work. You see, my dad is an out-of-this-world dad. Literally—he is out of this world. He is currently living and working aboard the International Space Station. Many of you know and hear about him as Astronaut Scott Kelly, the American Astronaut testing the limits and capabilities of the human body living and working in space for one year. To me, he is just “dad,” and in a few days, I will turn 12, and my dad will mark his halfway point of his journey. We will celebrate our events by having dinner together via teleconference. It’s not much, but it means the world to me. I usually spend a better part of my summer break with my dad at his house. I could not stay at his place this summer, and I’m not so sure I would be up to it. It does look like fun floating around and spinning from one end of the space station to the next, but he works a lot, and I think I would have gotten in the way. Summer did make the past three months go by pretty quickly, but the next three months will be a challenge. I will miss spending part of the holidays with my dad. 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