Five researchers from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, recently earned the Silver Snoopy award, an honor given to NASA employees and contractors across the agency for outstanding achievements related to human flight safety or mission success.
The award is given personally by NASA astronauts as it represents their own recognition of technical excellence. The Silver Snoopy award is one of several overseen by the Space Flight Awareness program at NASA. Less than one percent of the agency’s employees receive it annually.
“You guys should be proud,” said Langley Director Dave Bowles. “These are very special distinctions.”
Astronaut Shannon Walker helped present this year’s Silver Snoopy awards to the Langley recipients.
The award depicts Snoopy, a character from the “Peanuts” comic strip created by Charles Schulz. The award package consists of a Silver Snoopy lapel pin made of sterling silver that was flown during a NASA mission, a commendation letter stating the mission the Silver Snoopy pin was flown on and a framed Silver Snoopy certificate signed by an astronaut.
Here are the five award recipients from Langley and their achievements:
Stephen Derry: For his distinguished service in support of the human space flight program, Derry significantly increased the efficiency of the simulation process by developing a method to more efficiently model structural vibrations and persistence in tracking down anomalies, developing a solution on the Space Launch System.
Brian Emmett: For superior and sustained engineering excellence, creativity, and innovation in the development of a pneumatically activated latching system for the Orion Launch Abort System flight hatch, in the design of the Motor Adapter Truss Assembly, and in the design of the bumpers.
Darlene Pokora: For diligence in finding cost-saving alternatives to benefit the Orion Program and her leadership and dedication as an Orion team member.
James Reeder: For exceptional contributions to the development of a stress rupture model for Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels and novel testing procedures to evaluate the properties of strands for the overwrap. Reeder’s efforts have helped to develop new understanding and improved reliability estimates for these flight critical components.
Donald L. Smith: For outstanding leadership as the manufacturing quality assurance specialist, assisting the Orion Ascent Abort-2 team in overseeing the Fabricating of the Composite Mass Volume Isolator for the Exploration Mission-1.
Eric Gillard
NASA Langley Research Center