[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E124-E125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO THE LATE DR. LAUREL CLARK, ``COLUMBIA'' ASTRONAUT
______
HON. TOM UDALL
of new mexico
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, it is with profound sadness
that I rise today to express my sorrow over the loss the seven
astronauts on board the shuttle Columbia. At a time when there seemed
to be more than enough tragic news to go around, we woke up on a
Saturday morning to news reports about a missing space shuttle, and
then images of a disintegrating, burning spacecraft streaking across
the sky. The memories of the Challenger accident were brought back for
all of us, with the same sense of shared sadness.
The six American astronauts, together with their Israeli colleague,
represented much of the best that our world has to offer. To the honor
roll of those who died advancing human knowledge, we add Rick Husband,
Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, William McCool, David Brown, Laurel
Clark and Ilan Ramon.
President Bush, in his moving tribute to the dead of the Columbia,
asserted strongly, and wisely, that space exploration must not end:
``The cause in which they died will continue.
[[Page E125]]
Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of
discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go
on.''
Of these seven brave men and women that we lost, I want to pay
special tribute to Dr. Laurel Clark, who spent time as a child in New
Mexico, where her father, Robert Salton, still resides. In reading
interviews that Laurel gave, both before and during her mission on
Columbia, a portrait emerges of an intelligent, determined woman, who
managed a successful career, while at the same time being a devoted
daughter, wife and mother. She helped open the door further for more
women interested in science and space exploration careers.
In closing, I want to share a observation that Laurel gave from space
in describing what it was like to view a sunset from above the Earth.
``There's a flash--the whole payload bay turns this rosy pink. It only
lasts 15 seconds and then it's gone. It's very ethereal and extremely
beautiful.''
I believe that Laurel's comment helps all of us have a better sense
of who Laurel was. I want to express my deep sympathy to all of
Laurel's family and friends. Those who knew her personally will never
forget her, and her legacy will live on.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the following article,
which appeared in Sunday's Albuquerque Journal, be printed in the
Record following my remarks.
[From the Albuquerque Journal]
Albuquerque Father Recalls ``A Fine Lady''
(By Leanne Potts)
Robert Salton had gone into the back yard of his
Albuquerque home at dawn Saturday to look for his oldest
child in the western sky.
His daughter, Laurel Clark, was an astronaut aboard the
space shuttle Columbia. It was her first mission, and her
daddy had just heard on CNN that people in New Mexico should
be able to see the shuttle's trail as it flew over the state
en route to its landing in Florida.
``I saw one long contrail in the sky going from west to
east,'' Salton said. ``I'm pretty sure that was it. That was
her.''
Less than 20 minutes later Salton and his wife, Harriet,
heard the news on television: NASA had lost contact with the
shuttle.
``Then that TV reporter in Dallas had the footage that
showed the breakup,'' Salton said. ``And we knew what had
happened.''
The oldest of Salton's four children--the daughter who had
made A's in school, gone to medical school on a full Navy
scholarship and made the space program while she was five
months pregnant--was dead.
``She was just a fine lady,'' Salton said. ``I was proud of
her accomplishments, of course, but she was a good person,
too.''
Behind him, on a table in his home in a middle-class
neighborhood near University -Boulevard and Indian School
Road, were photos reminding the retired 69-year-old carpenter
of the accomplishments of his golden child.
There was Clark and her brother, Jon Salton, an engineer at
Sandia National Laboratories, grinning together in a training
plane that produces weightlessness. Clark is floating upside
down, wearing her blue astronaut jumpsuit; her eyes sparkle
like someone who knows her dream is in reach.
There was Salton's grandson--Laurel's 8-year-old son, Iain
Clark--holding a feather and a bone in some Southwestern
canyon.
There was a color 8-by-10 of Laurel's official NASA photo,
the one where her smile shows her dimples, the one Americans
have seen dozens of times since news broke that the space
shuttle Columbia blew up 207,000 feet in the air over Texas.
On the photo, Laurel had written: ``To a wonderful father--
I wouldn't be where I am without your guidance, support and
love.''
The word love was underlined.
Ringing phones
By 1 p.m. Saturday, the Saltons had turned off their TV.
They couldn't watch any more news reports about debris
raining from the Texas sky.
Their phone rang nonstop. Family called. Friends called.
Reporters called. Powerful people called.
``The governor called and left a message,'' Harriet Salton
said. ``We heard from that congressman from the southern part
of the state, too.''
The phone rang again. ``It's Heather,'' Harriet called to
her husband. Robert took the call, but was off the phone in
about two minutes.
``Wrong Heather,'' he said. ``I thought it was Heather
Salton (his niece) but it was Heather Wilson. I wouldn't have
picked up the phone for a congressman.''
The phone rang a few minutes later; Harriet looked at the
Caller ID. ``It's Dan Rather again,'' she said.
They let the answering machine take it.
Very tough lady
Clark, 41, was born in Iowa. The Saltons moved a lot, and
Clark lived here in Albuquerque two years in 1970s.
She went to the fifth grade at Hodgin Elementary around
1971 while Robert Salton worked on a doctorate in American
Studies at the University of New Mexico. Clark's mother,
Margory, was an RN.
The Saltons moved to New York but returned to Albuquerque a
year or so later, where Clark attended Monroe Middle School
for a year.
Her parents divorced, and Clark moved to Wisconsin with her
mother. Clark went to high school in Racine, Wis., a city of
84,000 that, according to her official NASA biography, she
considers to be her hometown.
She was an A-student at Horlick High. ``The only B she ever
made was in typing,'' Robert Salton said.
She got a Navy scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-
Madison, where she got a bachelor's degree in zoology in 1983
and a doctorate in medicine in 1987.
Clark joined the Navy and was working as a flight surgeon,
based in Pensacola, Fla., when she decided to try out for the
space program. Clark didn't make the program the first
tryout.
``Then she got pregnant, and I figured that was it for her
being an astronaut,'' Robert Salton said.
But Clark tried out again in 1996 when she was five months
pregnant with her son Iain. She got in.
``She is--she was--a very tough lady,'' Robert Salton said.
Clark lived in Houston with her husband, Jonathan Clark,
and son, Iain. Her husband is also in the space program.
Clark's husband and son had gone to Florida to see the
shuttle landing, as had Clark's sister, Lynne Salton of
Kansas City, Mo. The rest of the family was watching on
television, Salton said.
During the Columbia's 16-day mission, Clark had been in
contact with some of her siblings via e-mail.
``The kids have been forwarding me her e-mails this
morning. She was real excited, talking about watching
lightning storms over the Pacific.''
Salton said he saw his daughter for the last time in
December, when she came to Albuquerque for Christmas.
``She was pumped about the (shuttle) trip,'' Salton said.
``She was so excited. It was something she had worked for for
six or seven years.''
The Saltons said Laurel was aware of the risks involved in
space travel, but not worried about them. At least not enough
to miss a chance to fly in the stars.
``She was doing what she loved to do,'' Harriet Salton
said. ``She fulfilled her dream. Not many of us get to do
that.''
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