2026 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 2026, 37 government, 100 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
William Kirkland
Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE)
Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) - 1
Aerodyne Industries
John C. Garison
Ryan Soussan
Mark C. Wiederholt
John E. Wooley
Amentum
Jamshid Banakar
Lawrence Barrett
Julia Briden
Megan Englert
Robert Fisher
Angela Garcia
Matthew Green
Adrien N. Martinez
Daniel Telisky
JSC Engineering Data and Information Integration (JEDII) Team
Thermal Protection System Facility (TPSF)
ARES Corporation
John Ippolito
Ryan Rushing
NASA eMITS Broadcast Team
ASRC Federal
John C. Bielick
ASTRION
Antha A. Adkins
Simon J. Clemett
Axiom Space
Andrew Cooke
Melvin Matthew
Bryan Mitchell
Pearly Pandya
Tina Pauro
Jared Stout
Astronaut Operations and Experience
Barrios Technology
David Chen
Carson M. Hula
Tanya M. Lippincott
Bastion Technologies
Brandon C. Hawes
Blue Origin
Sara Casaletto
Jonathan Matos
Blue Origin Docking System Team
The ESCAPADE Mission Team
CACI, Inc
Charlotte Bell
Chris S. Strong
Firefly Aerospace
Blue Ghost Mission 1 Team
GeoControl Systems, Inc.
Patrick Estep
Honeywell Aerospace Technologies
Ted Bonk
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) Team
KBR
Daniel W. Croatti
Lindy A. Garay
Debra A. O'Connell
Paul A. Reichert
Serene Shbaklo
Grant Slusser
Artemis II Development Team
Human Research Program (HRP) Element Research Operations and Integration (ROI) Mission Science Integration Team
L3Harris
Jeffery R. Davis
Eleanor G. Forbes
Noah E. Forsythe
Josh A. Hansell
Robert G. Klein
Gary M. Savage
Forrest G. Vaughn
Hannah L. Watts
Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) Team
Leidos
Neela Iyengar
Jose T. Ortiz
Lockheed Martin
Lisa Akers
Reeanna Brown
Matt Cox
Stephen Sanders
Colin Sipe
Sam Sprotte
Halil Yonter
Jodi Zareski
Orion Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Team and the Assembly Test & Launch Operations (ATLO) Team
Mission Ops
Lauren Goodwin
MRI Technologies
Richard T. Tucker
NASA Johnson Space Center
Tamara R. Durham
Richard W. Guidry
Jonathan L. Homan
Kevin R. Kobylka
Cynthia R. Koester
Julie E. La Colla
Reeve D. Lambert
Christian P. Lupo
David A. Petri
Branelle Rodriguez
Jessica M. Scheffman
Regina Senegal
Emily M. Spreen
Materials and Processes Team
NASA JSC Gateway HALO Materials and Processes Team
Orion Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Team and the Assembly Test & Launch Operations (ATLO) Team
Universal Waste Management System Controller Failure Tiger Team
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Christopher L. Broadaway
Caitlin Dunlap
James Melton
Nexus
Julieta A. Ventura
Northrop Grumman
Adam Haskins
Brian Blevins
Jacob Collins
Jessica Contreras
Andrew Du
Alexandra Jaros
Adam Kelly
Kate Parkinson
Constantine Peters
Krystal Puga
Lian Rubin
Andrew Szuchy
Barbara Turdo
Cygnus Docking Development (CDD) Team
Cygnus XL Northrop Grumman-23 Team
Houston Highly Immersive Virtual Environment (HIVE) Team
SAIC
Nina L. Copley
Peter J. Klein
Holly S. Stevens
SAIC Safety & Mission Assurance Gateway Integrated Hazard Analysis Team
The Boeing Company
John E. Brock
Hieu Luong
Grace M. Mu
Darryl A. Scheer
Artemis Vortex Issue Resolution Team (AVIRT)
Space Launch System Strake Implementation Team
United States Space Force
Ashwin P. Rao
Adekunbi H. Adewunmi
Maxwell K. Butler
Ansell J. Cabrera
Robert A. Douglass
Thomas H. Freeman
Won In
Rinaldo Izzo
Orlando Martinez Jr.
Madeleine L. Naudeau
Salome Pajon
David K. Russell
Julie C. Smith
Alain Sothikhoun
Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Team
Space Development Agency Launch Mission Assurance Team
Strategic Satellite Communications
University Nanosat Program
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.