A former Ogden man became a full-fledged astronaut last week.
Army Maj. Michael R.U. Clifford, 40, was among seven pilots and 16 mission specialists who completed their yearlong astronaut training and evaluation period and were presented with a letter from the chief of NASA's Astronaut Office, Dan Brandenstein.With their graduation, members of the astronaut class are eligible for space flight assignments.
"This outstanding group of men and women will be key figures in NASA's space programs," Brandenstein said. "With their enthusiasm and technical expertise they will be a significant asset to the success of future missions."
Among the group are five women, three of whom are military officers. The first woman astronaut pilot was certified with this graduation.
Clifford told the Deseret News in an interview published in January 1990 that he has been following his dream of space flight a long time and he enjoys aeronautics and flying. At the time, he lived in Seabrook, Texas.
Clifford is a 1970 graduate of Ben Lomond High School, Ogden. He graduated from West Point and later earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.
He applied three time for
NASA's training programs before he was selected. In Texas, Clifford worked as a NASA technical liaison between Johnson Space Center, Houston, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
The Johnson center is the ground control station for shuttle missions, which are launched from the Kennedy center.