2009 Stellar Awards Winners
The 2009 RNASA Stellar Award winners in each of four categories were announced at the banquet on May 8, 2009 at the Houston Hyatt Regency hotel.
The 2009 nominations of 103 individuals and 32 teams were evaluated by former National Associate Administrator for Space Systems Development, Arnold D. Aldrich, and former NASA Flight Directors and National Space Trophy winners, Drs. Christopher C. Kraft Jr. and Glynn S. Lunney.
A listing of all the Stellar Awards Nominees was printed in the Program:
- Early Career Nominees (pdf)
- Middle Career Nominees (pdf)
- Late Career Nominees (pdf)
- Team Nominees (pdf)
2009 Stellar Awards Winners. NASA photo. Click for a high resolution copy. Front row L to R: Wen (late), Davidson (team), Webber (middle), Cline (late), Gale (late), Zhu (early), Knowlan (early), Hinerman (early). Back row L to R: ?Boyd (?team), Miller (early and team), Pilet (team), Window (team), McClain (middle), Kirk (early), Harik (early), Mango ((middle), Sanzone (late), Frandson (late), Link (middle), Goldstein (middle and team), Cannon (late), Scoville (early), Steinetz (middle). NOTE: Individual winner photos are available upon request. (NASA)
The 2009 Stellar Awards were presented by Astronauts Sunita Williams, and Leland Melvin.
Early Career Category Winners
Seven Stellar Awards were presented in the 2009 Early Career category.
2009 Stellar Awards Winners in Early Career Category. NASA photo. Click for a high resolution copy. Caption L to R: Melvin (presenting), Knowlan, Miller, Harik, Kirk, Scoville, Zhu, Hinerman, and Williams (presenting). (NASA)
Elliot P. Harik of The Boeing Company - Exceptional contributions, leadership and technical prowess in support of solar array rotary joint anomaly resolution for the International Space Station (ISS).
Timothy Hinerman of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne - Outstanding leadership in developing combustion stability analysis tools and applying them successfully to J-2X engine and attitude control thruster analysis.
Dr. Benjamin S. Kirk of NASA JSC - Outstanding technical contributions in determination of accurate aerothermal environments for safe operation of the Space Shuttle orbiter and development of the Orion spacecraft.
Capt. Garrett W. Knowlan of the USAF - Exceptional contributions to space-based global navigation leading to a common global positioning system (GPS)-Galileo signal for civilian use between the United States and Europe, the next generation GPS civil signal design for an expected 1 billion users, and a 25 percent increase in GPS military signal power to the warfighter.
Timothy M. Miller of MEI Technologies, Inc. - Outstanding contributions to far-infrared ground-based astronomy through development, fabrication, and assembly of a novel infrared detector, and technology development of highly sensitive large-format arrays for future observing missions.
Zebulon L. Scoville of NASA JSC - Superior technical contributions and leadership in the area of extravehicular activity (EVA) during the most dynamic period in EVA history.
Capt. Bai L. Zhu of the USAF - Outstanding contributions as an evolved expendable launch vehicles responsible engineer, leading mission assurance and anomaly resolution efforts to restore the United States' heavy launch capability and to drive process and safety improvements.
Middle Career Category Winners
Seven Stellar Awards were presented in the Middle Career category in 2009.
2009 Stellar Awards Winners in Middle Career Category. NASA photo. Click for a high resolution copy. Photo caption L to R: Williams (presenting), McClain, Steinetz, Webber, Mango, Link, Goldstein, and Melvin (presenting). Schrock not pictured. (NASA)
Barry G. Goldstein of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Outstanding contributions as the Phoenix Project manager, leading to the successful Mars landing followed by unprecedented scientific findings from the North Polar Region of Mars.
Dwight E. "Chip" Link Jr. of The Boeing Company - Outstanding sustained contributions in fluid system and life support system design and integration for the ISS program.
Edward J. Mango of NASA Kennedy Space Center - Exceptional leadership, dedication, and technical expertise in understanding and resolving the Engine Cutoff Sensor anomaly and enabling the Space Shuttle program to continue its mission to safely complete ISS assembly.
Terrell A. McClain of The Boeing Company - Lifelong dedication to the design of the backup flight system, and personal commitment to astronaut safety during all Space Shuttle missions.
Mark B. Schrock of United Space Alliance - Outstanding design and development of innovative proximity operations techniques required to support the Space Shuttle program.
Dr. Bruce M. Steinetz of NASA Glenn Research Center - Exceptional technical contributions in aerospace seals research and development and leadership of an internationally recognized NASA Seals team.
Carol L Webber of Lockheed Martin - Exemplary achievement in leading the Orion Composite Crew Cabin trade study to a consensus recommendation and securing a prompt decision from the administrator of NASA.
Late Career Category Winners
Six Stellar Awards were presented in the Late Career category in 2009.
2009 Stellar Awards Winners in Late Career Category. NASA photo. Click for a high resolution copy. Photo caption L to R: Melvin (presenting), Sanzone, Gale, Cannon, Wen, Cline, Frandsen, and Williams (presenting). (NASA)
Scott A. Cannon of ATK Launch Systems - Vision, leadership and technical excellence in executing of the complex task of guiding multiple organizations to a successful Ares I first stage Preliminary Design Review milestone.
Lynn F. H. Cline of NASA Headquarters - Exceptional contributions to the global community through realized human and robotic partnerships and discoveries in space.
Jon D. Frandsen of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne - Exceptional materials and processes technical expertise and leadership to the Space Shuttle main engine in support of flight safety.
Anita E. Gale of The Boeing Company - Relentless pursuit of more cost-effective cargo integration approaches, reducing both time and budget required to integrate payloads and vehicles and to deliver payloads to orbit.
Thomas V. Sanzone of Hamilton Sundstrand - Exceptional contributions to EVA during a 40-plus year career, from the first human on the moon to current preparations for a return to the moon, Mars and beyond.
Dr. Yiting Wen of MEI Technologies, Inc. - Exceptional contributions to the development and characterization of advanced detector systems for NASA's science missions.
Team Category
Five Stellar Awards were presented in the Team category in 2009.
2009 Stellar Awards Winners in Team Category. NASA photo. Click for a high resolution copy. Photo caption L to R: Williams (presenting), Miller (Low-Density Parity Check Team of MEI Technologies, Inc.), Pilet (External Tank Engine Cut-Off System Redesign and Certification of Lockheed Martin), Window (ISS Solar Alpha Rotary Joint Recovery Team of NASA JSC), Goldstein (Phoenix Project Team of NASA JPL), Davidson (ISS Joint Station Local Area Network Team of The Boeing Company), and Melvin (presenting). (NASA)
External Tank Engine Cut-Off System Redesign and Certification of Lockheed Martin - Technical excellence and outstanding team dedication in identifying the external tank engine cut-off system anomaly root cause and expeditiously redesigning and verifying a critical system. Mr. Jeffrey C. Pilet accepted for the team.
ISS Joint Station Local Area Network (LAN) Team of The Boeing Company - Successful design, development, integration, testing and on orbit deployment of the ISS joint station LAN that provides a high speed, low cost, Ethernet network for both operational and payload use throughout ISS, including both U.S. and International Partner modules. Suzanne R. Davidson accepted on behalf of the team.
ISS Solar Alpha Rotary Joint Recovery Team of NASA JSC - Exemplary performance in determining the root cause of the ISS Solar alpha rotary joint anomaly and implementing required measures to resolve the issue. Kevin N. Window accepted on behalf of the team.
Low-Density Parity Check Team of MEI Technologies, Inc. - Outstanding contributions to developing enabling technologies and providing solutions to challenging technical problems of increasing the high-speed downlink rate in satellite communications. Timothy Miller and Sam Boyd accepted on behalf of the team.
Phoenix Project Team of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Outstanding technical excellence and team dedication enabling another first for the United States space program by the successful polar mission around another celestial body. Barry G. Goldstein accepted on behalf of the team.
Return to Stellar Awards page.