2025 Stellar Award Nominees by Affiliation
Each fall, the RNASA Foundation solicits Stellar Award nominations of space industry workers and teams deserving of special recognition. In 2025, 42 government, 92 corporate, and 1 joint government/corporate nominations were received in four categories, Early Career, Mid Career, Late Career, and Team.
And the nominees are:
Aegis Aerospace
Roxanne Buxton
Zachary T. Jones
Jared Nardontonia
Melisa Radford
Aerodyne Industries
Geetha Alagappan
Abigail B. Coleman
Shailaja B. Janapati
Harvey N. Mizell
Amentum
Alexis Adrian
Angela H. Garcia
Carl A. Lauritzen
Robert C. Mitchell
Kyson Nguyen
Richelle Raquet
Fadi Riman
Shelby Rode
Avionics Common Electronics (ACE) Laboratory Technicians
Structures Test Laboratory Team
ASRC Federal
Robert E. Wright
ASTRION
Patrick J. Galvin
Axiom Space
Kayleigh Ellis
Melinda Hailey
Jeffery Landrey
Lucie Low
Tammy Radford
Christian Rivera
Brandon Shedd
Michelle Stein
Holly Tinsley
Peggy Whitson
AX-3 Axiom Team
Axiom Ax-3 Ground Operations Team
Axiom Space Thruster Development Team
Customer Integration & Crew Operations Team
Barrios Technology
Devin Vyain
Blue Origin
James D. Dodgen
Michael Malencia
Scott Patty
Mark Rice
Booz Allen Hamilton
Ronald G. Lee, Jr.
Booz Allen NASA Digital Engineering Team
CACI, Inc
Christopher Brownschidle
Andrew J. Ward
Draper
Matt Fritz
Jimmy Jang
Draper Stratolaunch Talon-A Guidance, Navigation, and Control Team
GeoControl Systems, Inc.
Alejandro Garbino
Andrea B. Mosie
Honeywell Aerospace Technologies
Meghan Pipitone
Intuitive Machines
Tyler Gilliland
Robert Morehead
Nova-C Operations Team
KBR
John A. Dickey
Dean L. Lenort
Timothy R. Macaulay
Jeffrey M. Nesrsta
Eliseo J. Reyes
Timothy J. Terry
Quan Xiong
Leidos
Lisa A. Milam
Long B. Nguyen
Patricia A. O'Connell
Leidos Research, Engineering, Mission Integration Services (REMIS) Team
Lockheed Martin
David M. Buecher
Mary L. Fleet
Matt M. Gietzel
Emma Lawrence
Linda C. Singleton
Lockheed Martin - NASA Orion Environmental Test Article Team
MRI Technologies
Anthony Paul Shoemaker
AppDat
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility
Voodoo Launch Team
NASA Johnson Space Center
Joseph B. Anderson
Pam A. August
James W. Berck
Raul A. Blanco
Roger L. Boyer
Mark O. Dub
Emily F. Hacopian
John Kowal
Douglas A. Litteken
Lorraine E. Prokop
Mark A. Thiessen
Katherine P. Toon
Jamie S. Womack
Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration Team
Cold Stowage Team
Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog Team
LOCKHEED MARTIN-NASA ORION ENVIRONMENTAL TEST ARTICLE (ETA) TEAM
NASA Mars Sample Return Re-Architecture Team
Orion Heat Shield Investigation Team
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Joseph M. Schuh
Billy R. Stover
Steven J. Sullivan
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) Certification Team
Nexus
Roland M. Nedelkovich
Northrop Grumman
Ravi Agarwal
Christopher W. Brunner
Katherine H. Frey
F. Joseph Harvatine
Andrew Hong
Michael R. Orlowski
Joseph W. Whitacre
Ryan Witko
Cygnus Integration and Test Team
Oceaneering Space Systems
Timothy A. Morgan
SAIC
John F. Bretti
SAIC Quality Assurance Inspection and Engineering Team
SpaceX
Michael Chaffee
Karly Davis
Lee Echerd
Benjamin Kolodner
Matthew McKeown
The Aerospace Corporation
Leon Chen
TTTech North America
Joel Busa
James Ratliff
United States Space Force
Xavier P. Adams
Jesse J. Cole
Rachel K. Gleichmann
Kerianne L. Hobbs
Jonathan D. Hogan
Terranika D. Johnson
Seth L. Lacy
Steven J. Lipson
Joseph P. Pastrovich
Brady M. Pudwill
Morgan E. Sparks
Andrew L. Tymchenko
Andrew D. Williams
Nicholas Y. Yeung
Missile Warning and Tactical Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Team
Second Space Launch Squadron Space Cowboys
Space Surveillance Team
Space Systems Command International Affairs Capabilities Development Division
Space-Based Weather Systems Team
The citations of the nominees are printed in the annual souvenir program book which is distributed at the banquet and made available online after the event.
The winners are announced at the banquet and through a post-event press release. Visit Stellar Award winners to view photos and read citations from previous years.