Laurel Clark
NASA astronaut and medical doctor who perished in the Columbia disaster.
Laurel Blair Clark was an American astronaut, doctor, Navy captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist. She was born on March 10, 1961, in Ames, Iowa, but considered Racine, Wisconsin, her hometown. She died on February 1, 2003, alongside her six crewmates when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry. After her death, she received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Clark graduated from William Horlick High School in Racine in 1979. She went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, earning a bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1983 and a medical degree in 1987. While there, she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She also held an amateur radio license from the FCC, with the call sign KC5ZSU.
During medical school, she trained with the Diving Medicine Department at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in March 1987. After earning her medical degree, she completed a pediatrics residency at the National Naval Medical Center from 1987 to 1988. The next year, she finished undersea medical officer training in Groton, Connecticut, and diving medical officer training in Panama City, Florida. She became a Radiation Health Officer and Undersea Medical Officer. Clark then served as the Medical Department Head for Submarine Squadron 14 in Holy Loch, Scotland. There, she dove with Navy divers and SEALs from Naval Special Warfare Unit Two and handled many medical evacuations from submarines. After two years, she was designated a Naval Submarine Medical Officer and Diving Medical Officer.
Clark spent six months in aeromedical training at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Florida, and became a Naval Flight Surgeon. She was stationed at MCAS Yuma, Arizona, as the flight surgeon for Marine Attack Squadron 211, a Harrier squadron. She deployed several times, including to the Western Pacific, practiced medicine in tough conditions, and flew on many aircraft. Her squadron won the Marine Attack Squadron of the Year award for a successful deployment. She later became the Group Flight Surgeon for Marine Aircraft Group 13. Before joining NASA, she served as a flight surgeon for Training Squadron 86, which trains naval flight officers for tactical jets at NAS Pensacola. She was board certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners and held a Wisconsin medical license.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Laurel Blair Salton
- Birth Date
- 1961-03-10
- Birth Place
- Ames, Iowa, U.S.
- Death Date
- 2003-02-01
- Death Place
- Over Texas, U.S.
- Death Cause
- Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
- Education
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (BS, MD)
- Awards
- Congressional Space Medal of Honor · NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- Rank
- Captain, USN
- Time
- 15d 22h 20m
- Selection
- NASA Group 16 (1996)
- Mission
- STS-107
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Laurel Clark was born in Ames, Iowa, but considered Racine, Wisconsin, her hometown. She graduated from William Horlick High School in Racine in 1979, then earned a Bachelor of Science in zoology and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She held an FCC Technician Class amateur radio license with call sign KC5ZSU and was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
Clark's military career included training in diving medicine, undersea medicine, and aerospace medicine. She served as a Naval Flight Surgeon with Marine Attack Squadron 211, deploying to the Western Pacific, and later as Group Flight Surgeon for Marine Aircraft Group 13. Before joining NASA, she was a Flight Surgeon for Training Squadron 86. She was board certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners and held qualifications including Radiation Health Officer, Undersea Medical Officer, Diving Medical Officer, Submarine Medical Officer, and Naval Flight Surgeon.
Selected by NASA in April 1996, Clark reported to Johnson Space Center in August 1996 and qualified as a mission specialist. She flew on STS-107, a 16-day science and research mission that conducted approximately 80 experiments. The mission ended when Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on February 1, 2003, 16 minutes before scheduled landing. Clark's final email described Earth as 'magnificent' and noted the challenge of staying hydrated in microgravity due to an almost non-existent sense of thirst.
Reader's Guide
Laurel Clark's significance lies in her dual career as a NASA astronaut and a highly qualified military medical officer. Her service as a Naval Flight Surgeon, Undersea Medical Officer, and Diving Medical Officer demonstrated a rare breadth of expertise. As a mission specialist on STS-107, she contributed to bioscience experiments including gardening in space. Her death in the Columbia disaster led to posthumous honors including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. Her legacy is commemorated through multiple tributes: asteroid 51827 Laurelclark, Clark Hill in the Columbia Hills on Mars, a lunar crater, a memorial fountain in Racine, Wisconsin, and the naming of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft S.S. Laurel Clark. The Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute named its Aerospace Medicine Academic Center after Clark and David M. Brown. Clark Auditorium at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center displays her uniforms and personal items. The Scottish band Runrig included a recording of her voice on their 2016 album The Story, after her family gave them a CD of theirs that survived the shuttle disintegration.
Did You Know?
- She was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
- A CD by the band Runrig that Clark took into space was found among debris and later presented to the band by her family.
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