Four of the seven NASA Space Flight Awareness honorees from NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center display their awards that were presented in recent ceremonies at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are Richard Dykstra, Judy Grizzard, Lori Losey and Richard Batchelor. NASA astronaut Mike Barratt, at right, presented their awards. Three other Dryden honorees, James Pavlicek, David Jones and Michael Webb, were unable to attend the event. (NASA Photo)
› View Larger Photo EDWARDS, Calif. – Seven employees of NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center were recently honored by the agency’s Space Flight Awareness Program for outstanding support of human space flight.
The program recognizes outstanding job performances and contributions by civil service and contract employees throughout the year and focuses on excellence in quality and safety in support of human space flight.
In recognition of such flight program contributions, four of the seven Dryden honorees traveled to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a tour of the center and to participate in activities in conjunction with the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station.
Richard Batchelor of Tehachapi, Calif., a field service engineer with Arcata Associates at Dryden, was recognized for his many contributions to the space shuttle and International Space Station programs. He was a pioneer in the design and implementation of the ground VHF system currently used to provide a voice communications link between NASA and the International Space Station. During his tenure at Dryden, he has supported 90 shuttle missions as well as countless Mir Space Station, ISS & Soyuz orbits.
Richard Dykstra of Quartz Hill, Calif., also a field service engineer with Arcata Associates, was recognized for his contributions to the shuttle program in supporting more than 125 shuttle missions. Dykstra primarily supports the radar systems at Dryden’s Aeronautical Tracking Facility, consistently maintaining the level of expertise, perseverance and dedication required to give the customer the highest level of confidence in Dryden’s ability to support space flight operations.
Judy Grizzard of Quartz Hill, Calif., a project manager with Kay & Associates, was recognized for her support as the shuttle technical liaison, providing technical expertise in shuttle landing and turnaround operations. She also supervises the aircraft ground equipment maintenance operations team and the shop lead at Dryden.
Michael Webb of Quartz Hill, Calif., a technician with Arcata Associates, was recognized for 21 years of contributions to the shuttle program covering more than 100 shuttle missions from Dryden’s Aeronautical Tracking Facility. He currently supports radar and data processing systems operations and maintenance at the NASA site.
David Jones of Tehachapi, Calif., a range control officer at Dryden, was recognized for his dedication of more than 20 years to human space flight support at Edwards Air Force Base as a contractor and civil servant. Jones coordinates Dryden’s Western Aeronautical Test Range activities in support of shuttle flights, International Space Station and Soyuz orbits, providing tracking and communication support. He also has supported numerous other aeronautical research projects at Dryden and on the Edwards Flight Test Range.
James Pavlicek of California City, Calif., also a range control officer at Dryden, was recognized for 25 years of contributions to human space flight efforts. He has supported 111 shuttle flights, in addition to various International Space Station and Soyuz missions. Pavlicek has trained numerous personnel on telemetry, radar and data processing systems and has participated in many engineering development tasks in support of the space shuttle.
Lori Losey of Lancaster, Calif., a senior video producer/director with Arcata Associates at Dryden, was recognized for her contributions in capturing and disseminating video of shuttle landings at Edwards Air Force Base. She has won numerous awards for producing and editing and has been involved with several aspects of documenting the Space Shuttle Program as a camera operator, television director, aerial videographer and producer/editor. Losey produced, shot and edited the X-38 flight test program documentary that was the first high definition video project initiated and completed at Dryden.
The Space Flight Awareness Award is one of the highest honors presented to employees for their dedication to quality work and flight safety. Recipients must have contributed beyond their normal work requirements toward achieving a particular human space flight program goal; contributed to a major cost savings; been instrumental in developing material that increases reliability, efficiency or performance; assisted in operational improvements; or been a key player in developing a beneficial process improvement.
For more about NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden
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Alan Brown
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
(661) 276-2665
alan.brown@nasa.gov