2006 Stellar Awards Winners
The 2006 RNASA Stellar Award winners in each of four categories were announced at the banquet on March 24, 2006 at the Houston Hyatt Regency hotel.
The 2006 Stellar Evaluators were former National Space Trophy winners Dr. Aaron Cohen, Dr. Chris Kraft Jr., and Dr. Glynn Lunney.
2006 Stellar Awards Winners in all categories. high res. 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. (NASA)
The 2006 Stellar Awards were presented by Astronauts James Reilly, II and Joan Higginbotham. Individual photos of winners are available on request.
Early Career Category Winners
Seven Stellar Awards were presented in the 2006 Early Career category (individuals up to age 33).
2006 Stellar Awards Winner in Early Career Category. High Res. Photo caption L to R: Nordling, Arves, Graham (for Schmidt), Krolcyzk, Hemler, Vicker, Reilly. (NASA)
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 U.S. space programs.
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 NASA Johnson Space Center for exemplary performance and dedication in the development and application of high fidelity computational modeling analysis of launch vehicle aerodynamic environments for the Space Shuttle, helping to assure the safety of future Shuttle missions.
Middle Career Category Winners
Five Stellar Awards were presented in the Middle-Career category in 2006 (ages 33-50).
2006 Stellar Awards Winners in Middle Career Category. High Res. Photo caption L to R: Adams, Poulos, Clokey, Collins, Smith, Reilly. (NASA)
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 USA and NASA for return-to-flight.
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.
Late Career Category Winners
Five Stellar Awards were presented in the Late Career category (individuals over 50).
2006 Stellar Awards Winners in Late Career Category. High Res. Photo caption L to R: Camarda (for Kuo), Bejmuk, Mott, Nicholson, DebChaudhury, Higginbotham. (NASA)
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 Deb Chaudhury 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 NASA Johnson Space Center for outstanding leadership in the development of multi-body dynamics algorithms for the simulation of complex NASA robotic and spacecraft systems
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.
Team Category Winners
Six Stellar Awards were presented in the Team category in 2006.
2006 Stellar Awards Winners in Team Category.High Res. Photo caption L to R: Aaron, Davis, Altchek, Howell, Patel, Henderson, Skytland, Rajulu, Reilly. (NASA)
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 Goddard Spaceflight Center.
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 Space Warfare Center.
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.
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