Michael R. Clifford

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Michael R. Clifford
Michael R. Clifford
Country: USA
Organization: NASA
selected on Jan 17, 1990
( 13th NASA Group )
Calls: 3 space flights
Start of the
first space flight: 		2nd December 1992
Landing of the
last space flight: 		March 31, 1996
Time in space: 27d 18h ​​24min
EVA inserts: 1
Total EVA duration: 6h 2min
retired on January 6, 1997
Space flights

Michael Richard Uram "Rich" Clifford (born October 13, 1952 in San Bernardino , California , † December 28, 2021 ) was an American astronaut .

Clifford received a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1974 and a masters degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1982 . In 1974 he went to the United States Army and was trained as a pilot. He was stationed in Germany for three years with the 2nd US Cavalry Regiment . From 1982 he was an instructor and assistant professor in the Department of Mechanics at West Point. In December 1986 he completed his training as a test pilot.

Astronaut activity

In July 1987 Michael Clifford came to the Johnson Space Center and worked there in the space shuttle program. After unsuccessful applications for the 11th and 12th astronaut groups of NASA, Clifford was selected in January 1990 with the 13th group as an astronaut candidate.

STS-53

On December 2, 1992, Clifford flew into space for the first time as a mission specialist on the space shuttle Discovery . This mission was carried out on behalf of the US Department of Defense with a secret payload. Presumably it was a spy satellite for the reconnaissance of radio signals.

STS-59

Clifford's next assignment as a mission specialist was on April 9, 1994. The so-called Space Radar Laboratory Mission (SRL) was carried out on board the space shuttle Endeavor . SRL consisted of three large radar systems and a carbon monoxide sensor that were used to investigate the earth's surface and the atmosphere. Real-time observations of surface features and weather conditions along with over 14,000 photographs helped the researchers evaluate the data.

STS-76

On March 22, 1996, Clifford started as a mission specialist with the space shuttle Atlantis to the Russian space station Mir . On the third rendezvous mission, the astronaut Shannon Lucid was brought to the Mir space station. In addition, supplies, equipment and experimental materials were delivered, and technological and biological experiments were carried out in the Spacehab . Together with Linda M. Godwin , Clifford installed various devices on the outside of the space station in a six hour spacecraft mission . Very few people, including Commanding Officer Kevin P. Chilton , knew that Clifford had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease two years earlier . NASA had no concerns about Clifford's use, but after returning Clifford decided not to conduct another space flight.

According to NASA

After leaving NASA, Clifford became Flight Operations Manager of Boeing's space station program in January 1997 .

Private

Michael Clifford was married and had two children. In 1994 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease , an illness of which he died in December 2021 at the age of 69.

See also

Web links

Commons : Michael R. Clifford  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rich Clifford, astronaut who secretly flew with Parkinson's, dies at 69
  2. ^ Dan Lauck: A secret in space: NASA astronaut flew on Atlantis 2 years after Parkinson's diagnosis. KHOU, April 29, 2011, archived from the original ; accessed on April 29, 2011 .
personal data
SURNAME Clifford, Michael R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Clifford, Michael Richard Uram (full name); Clifford, Rich (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronaut
BIRTH DATE October 13, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Norton Air Force Base , California
DATE OF DEATH December 28, 2021