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2006 Stellar Award Winners
Each year the RNASA Foundation solicits nominations from NASA, the military and industry leaders in human and unmanned spaceflight programs for individual and team achievements to be recognized with Stellar Awards. Nominees are evaluated based on which accomplishments hold the greatest promise for furthering future activities in space, and the winners in each of four categories are announced at the banquet.
The 2006 Stellar Evaluators were former National
Space Trophy winners Dr. Aaron Cohen, Dr. Chris Kraft, Jr., and Dr. Glynn Lunney. The winners in all categories are shown in this low res or high res group photo
. Caption: Second row L to R: DebChaudhury, Arves, Adams, Bejmuk, Patel, Nicholson, Henderson, Smith, Clokey, unidentifed, Vicker, Collins, Skytland, Krolczyk, Howell. First row L to R: Mott, Nordling, Graham (for Schmidt), Poulos, Aaron, Altchek, Hemler, Rajulu.
The 2006 Stellar Awards were presented by Astronauts James Reilly, II and Joan Higginbotham. Individual photos of winners are available on request.
Seven Stellar Awards were presented in the 2006 Early Career category
that is for individuals up to age 33. Photo caption L to R: Nordling, Arves, Graham (for Schmidt), Krolcyzk, Hemler, Vicker, Reilly. High Res. The winners are:
Joseph P. Arves, II
of Lockheed Martin, Michoud Ops for exceptional
accomplishments in pioneering the development of hybrid propulsion, leading to
a successful sounding rocket flight test, and in 2005, the longest known burn
of a large scale hybrid motor. See his photo by following the link to the March 30 Mission Success Bulletin that went out to over 2,000 emoployees of Lockheed Martin.
Jeremy M. Hemler
of ATK Thiokol for exceptional initiative in the design and integration of
Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) testing in support of NASA’s safe
Return-to-Flight and “Test Before You Fly” initiatives.
Brian D. Krolczyk of
United Space Alliance, LLC for exceptional contributions to the development of
on-orbit Space Shuttle wing leading edge repair materials and repair techniques
through risk analysis and safety leadership.
Capt. Peter E. Muend
of the United States Air Force for overcoming technical hurdles through
brilliant innovation and corporate vision that have benefited multiple
David A. Nordling of
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for technical
excellence in the area of advanced electric propulsion systems as well as
numerous contributions to other advanced propulsion and power systems.
Dr. Patricia B. Schmidt
of The Boeing Company - Exceptional technical leadership as EVA console shift
lead in the ISS Mission Evaluation Room for the STS-114 “Return-to-Flight”
mission and as co-chair of the EVA System Problem Resolution Team.
Darby J. Vicker
of
Five Stellar Awards were presented in the Middle-Career category in 2006
that is for ages 33-50. Photo caption L to R: Adams, Poulos, Clokey, Collins, Smith, Reilly. High Res. The winners are:
Casey J. Adams of The Boeing Company for technical
excellence in leading the ISS Power
Lab and extensive system expertise in command and data handling, software and
firmware requirements, ISS electrical
power system operation, and integrated testing.
Craig Clokey of United Space
Alliance, LLC for contributions beyond expectations to strengthening the Flight
Safety processes, by dedicating his leadership skills and technical expertise
to enhance the flight readiness process, thus successfully preparing
Edward L. Collins, Jr. of ATK Thiokol for significant
contributions to the aerospace industry and manned spaceflight through
sustained exceptional effort, coupled with keen engineering insight and
technical expertise in nozzle design and engineering.
Steve M. Poulos, Jr.
of NASA Johnson Space Center for outstanding leadership and management for the
Space Shuttle program in the design, development, certification and testing of
the orbiter vehicle.
Daniel C. Smith
of Lockheed Martin Technical Operations for outstanding technical and
leadership achievements contributing to the design and superb performance of
the spacecraft control laws used in the Hubble Space Telescope’s Two-Gyro
Science Mode.
Five Stellar Awards were presented in the Late Career category for
individuals over 50. Photo caption L to R: Camarda (for Kuo), Bejmuk, Mott, Nicholson, DebChaudhury, Higginbotham. High Res. The winners are:
Bohdan Bejmuk of The Boeing Company
for outstanding technical leadership and innovation in the development and
operation of the Space Shuttle, from participation in the original design
through support of the STS-114 “Return-to-Flight” mission.
Dr. Amitabha DebChaudhury of
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for providing the
highest level of technical support in creating innovative structural and system
engineering analysis methods and related software solutions in support of all Rocketdyne programs.
Ying Ming Kuo
of
Michael Mott of The Boeing Company for numerous
far-reaching contributions to the future of humankind’s space exploration
goals; his leadership and innovation that were key in helping to ensure NASA’s
mission success, and for his sound guidance, wise counsel and boundless
enthusiasm that will be sorely missed. Michael Mott died last year, and his
widow Kathy accepted the award on his behalf.
Leonard S. Nicholson of The Boeing Company for over 40 years of
distinguished service in key leadership roles spanning the Gemini, Apollo,
Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, Space Shuttle and Space Station programs.
Six Stellar Awards were presented in the Team category in 2006. Photo caption L to R: Aaron, Davis, Altchek, Howell, Patel, Henderson, Skytland, Rajulu, Reilly. High Res.
The winners are:
Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility / Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
Weigh-out Team of NASA Johnson Space Center for critical reductions to the risk of crew
injury training for the “wall of EVA” necessary for ISS construction and operations, with the creation of a world-class biomechanics
infrastructure at Johnson Space Center to study human performance for
microgravity and planetary spacewalks that has had, and will continue to have,
far reaching consequences in enabling astronauts to work in space. The award
was accepted on behalf of the team by Sudhakar Rajulu.
Deep Impact Mission Team of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. and
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for successful
management of the delivery of the two Deep Impact mission’s spacecraft to Comet
Tempel 1; the Impactor
spacecraft performed a high-speed impact with the comet, and the Flyby
spacecraft gathered in-situ science. The award was accepted on behalf of the
team by Keyur Patel of the Jet Propulsion Lab and
Monte Henderson of Ball Aerospace.
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite N-P Management Team of
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for dedicated and
innovative leadership of the development of a new generation of environmental
satellites, of which GOES N will be the first to launch, bringing more accurate
forecasting of dangerous weather systems – saving lives and minimizing property
damage. The award was accepted for the team by Martin Davis of
Mars Global Surveyor Team of Lockheed Martin Technical Operations
for outstanding technical achievement and dedication in the successful low-cost
design, development, integration, test and operation of the Mars Global
Surveyor spacecraft that has produced unprecedented science discoveries, laying
the foundation for the Mars exploration of today and tomorrow. The award was
accepted for the team by Dale Howell of Lockheed Martin.
Wargame Team of the United States Air Force, Space
Warfare Center for significantly improved national security
through innovative wargame design involving concepts
of operating and integrating military, civil and commercial space assets. The
award was accepted for the team by Jason Altchek of
the
Water Processor Assembly and Oxygen Generator Assembly Development Team
of Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International
for successful development and delivery of our nation’s first flight-qualified
life support technologies, enabling the regenerative supply of water and oxygen
for long- duration human space exploration. The award was accepted for the team
by Robert Aaron of Hamilton Sundstrand.
See the Press 2005 page for a listing and photos of the 2005 winners.
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Updated: 9-25-06