NASA Distinguished Service Medal
The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both military astronauts and civilian employees.
NASA Distinguished Service Medal | |
---|---|
NASA Distinguished Service Medal | |
Awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | |
Country | United States |
Type | Medal |
Eligibility | Federal government employees |
Awarded for | "distinguished service, ability, or courage, [that] has...made a contribution representing substantial progress to aeronautical or space exploration in the interests of the United States" |
Status | Active |
Statistics | |
Established | July 29, 1959 |
First awarded | 1959 |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | Congressional Space Medal of Honor |
Equivalent | Distinguished Public Service Medal |
Next (lower) | Outstanding Leadership Medal |
NASA Distinguished Service Ribbon |
The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to those who display distinguished service, ability, or courage, and have personally made a contribution representing substantial progress to the NASA mission. The contribution must be so extraordinary that other forms of recognition would be inadequate.
Typical presentations of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal included awards to senior NASA administrators, mission control leaders, and astronauts who have completed several successful space flights. Due to the prestige of the award, the decoration is authorized for wear on active uniforms of the United States military. Another such authorized decoration is the NASA Space Flight Medal.
Upon the recommendation of NASA, the president may award an even higher honor to astronauts, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
The medal was original awarded by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and was inherited by NASA. The first NASA version (type I), featuring the NASA seal, was issued from 1959 until 1964, when it was replaced by the current type II medal (shown).
Recipients
1959
- John W. Crowley, Jr., NASA Director of Aeronautical and Space Research[1]
1961
- Alan Shepard (May 8)
- Virgil I. Grissom (July 22)
1962
- John Glenn
- Robert Gilruth
- Scott Carpenter
- Wally Schirra (October 15)
- Forrest S. Petersen,[2] X-15 pilot
- Robert White, X-15 pilot
- Joseph A. Walker, X-15 pilot
- Walter C. Williams
- Malcolm S. Carpenter
1963
1965
- Wally Schirra (December 30) (second award)
1968
1969
- William A. Anders
- Frank A. Bogart
- Carroll H. Bolender
- Frank Borman
- Robert E. Bourdeau
- Eugene A. Cernan
- Roger B. Chaffee
- John F. Clark
- Raymond L. Clark
- Ozro M. Covington
- Kurt H. Debus
- Maxime A. Faget
- Robert R. Gilruth
- Harry H. Gorman
- Virgil I. Grissom (second award)
- Hans F. Gruene
- George H. Hage
- Wesley L. Hjornevik
- Lee B. James
- David M. Jones
- Kenneth S. Kleinknecht
- Christopher C. Kraft
- James A. Lovell
- George M. Low
- Charles W. Matthews
- James A. McDivitt
- Jessie L. Mitchell
- George E. Mueller
- John E. Naugle
- Edmund F. O'Connor
- Rocco A. Petrone
- Samuel C. Phillips
- Joseph Purcell
- Eberhard F. M. Rees
- Ludie G. Richard
- Arthur Rudolph
- Julian W. Scheer
- William C. Schneider
- Russell L. Schweickart
- David R. Scott
- Robert C. Seamans
- Willis H. Shapley[4]
- Albert F. Siepert
- Donald K. Slayton
- Thomas P. Stafford
- Gerald M. Truszynski
- Wernher von Braun
- Hermann K. Weidner
- Edward H. White
- John J. Williams
- John W. Young
1970
- Edwin E. Aldrin
- Neil A. Armstrong
- Alan L. Bean
- Michael Collins
- Charles Conrad
- Richard F. Gordon
- Fred W. Haise
- James A. Lovell (second award)
- Thomas O. Paine
- John L. Swigert
1971
- Charles J. Donlan
- James B. Irwin
- Vincent L. Johnson
- Walter J. Kapryan
- Eugene F. Kranz
- Bruce T. Lundin
- Glynn S. Lunney
- James A. McDivitt
- Edgar D. Mitchell
- Bernard Moritz
- Dale D. Myers
- Oran W. Nicks
- Stuart A. Roosa
- David R. Scott (second award)
- Alan B. Shepard (second award)
- Sigurd A. Sjoberg
- John W. Townsend
- Alfred M. Worden
1972
- Charles M. Duke
- Paul Werner Gast
- William R. Lucas
- Hans M. Mark
- Thomas K. Mattingly
- Richard C. McCurdy
- William T. Pecora
- Dan Schneiderman
- John W. Young (second award)
1973
- George W. S. Abbey
- Alan L. Bean (second award)
- Leland F. Belew
- Charles A. Berry
- Aleck C. Bond
- Anthony J. Calio
- Eugene A. Cernan (second award)
- Aaron Cohen
- Charles Conrad (second award)
- Richard W. Cook
- John H. Disher
- Paul C. Donnelly
- Ronald E. Evans
- Arnold W. Frutkin
- Owen K. Garriott
- Ernst Geissler
- Roy E. Godfrey
- Robert H. Gray
- George B. Hardy
- Robert C. Hock
- William P. Horton
- S. Neil Hosenball
- Roy P. Jackson
- Richard S. Johnston
- Joseph P. Kerwin
- James E. Kingsbury
- Jack A. Kinzler
- Kenneth S. Kleinknecht (second award)
- Joseph N. Kotanchik
- Chester M. Lee
- William E. Lilly
- Jack R. Lousma
- Owen G. Morris
- Rocco A. Petrone
- Isom A. Rigell
- Miles Ross
- George T. Sasseen
- Harrison H. Schmitt
- William C. Schneider
- Richard G. Smith
- Howard W. Tindall
- Paul J. Weitz
1974
- Donald D. Buchanan
- Gerald P. Carr
- Walker E. Giberson
- Edward G. Gibson
- Charles F. Hall
- Robert L. Krieger
- Dale D. Myers
- William R. Pogue
- Norman Pozinsky
- Martin L. Raines
- Lee R. Scherer
- John M. Thole
- Robert F. Thompson
1975
- Vance D. Brand
- Robert H. Curtin
- M. P. Frank
- Donald P. Hearth
- Chester M. Lee
- Glynn S. Lunney
- Joseph B. Mahon
- Ellery B. May
- John L. McLucas
- William Nordberg
- George F. Page
- Donald K. Slayton (second award)
- Thomas P. Stafford (second award)
- David Williamson
1976
- Charles J. Donlan
- Isaac T. Gillam
- Charles R. Gunn
- William M. Lohse
- Charles W. Mathews
- John J. Neilon
- Leonard Roberts
- William R. Schindler
1977
- Edgar M. Cortright
- Malcolm R. Currie
- James C. Fletcher
- Noel W. Hinners
- Leonard Jaffe[5]
- Harriett G. Jenkins
- Robert S. Kraemer
- Bruce T. Lundin
- Hans M. Mark
- James S. Martin
- John E. Naugle
- Henry W. Norris
- A. Thomas Young
1978
- Kenneth R. Chapman
- Duward Crow
- Robert H. Curtin
- Marvin L. McNickle
- David R. Scott (Third Award)
- Milton O. Thompson
- Gerald M. Truszynski
1980
- William H. Bayley
1981
- Robert L. Crippen[6]
- Paul C. Donnelly
Walter C Williams :received DSM on August 14, 1981;signed in Washington by James Beggs Second DSM; first in June 1962
1984
Robert O. Aller received DSM on November 26 1984. Signed in WDC by James Beggs.
1988
- Willis H. Shapley[4] (second award)
1994
- Joseph H Rothenberg
1995
- Dr. Charles J. Pellerin
- Bill G. Aldridge[8]
1996
- Gerald M. Smith
2000
- Joseph H Rothenberg
2001
- Jack Brooks
- Claude Nicollier
- Courtney Stadd[9]
- James S. Voss[10]
- Joseph Philip Loftus
2002
2004
- Lott W. Brantley Jr.
- G. Scott Hubbard
- Edward T. Lu
2007
- Douglas Hendriksen[13]
2008
- Walter Cunningham
- Donn Eisele
- Fuk Li
- Walter Schirra (Third Award)
- E. Myles Standish
- Richard Sunseri
2009
- Christopher Scolese[14]
- Stephanie D. Wilson
2010
- David K. Alonso
- Scott D. Altman
- John M. Grunsfeld
- Kenneth M. Ford
- Jeffrey M. Hanley
- John T. James
- Suresh M. Joshi
- William H. Kinard
- Steven J. Ostro
- Mark L. Polansky
- Frederick Sturckow
- Jacob Trombka
- David A. Wolf
2011
- Stephen K. Robinson
- Richard Mushotzky
- Daniel McCleese
- Richard Fisher
- Stephanie D. Wilson
- James E. Fesmire
- Dmitry Kondratyev
2012
- Frank J. Benz[16]
- Byron Butler
- Sam V. Digesu
- Christopher J. Ferguson
- David C. Folta
- Michael E. Fossum
- Mark E. Kelly
- Alan J. Lindenmoyer
- David M. Martin[17]
- Ann McNair
- Robert R. Meyer
- Martin G. Mlynczak
- Philip E. Phillips[17]
- Craig L. Purdy
- Daniel C. Reda
- Joseph Savino
- Phillip A. Sabelhaus
- Peter J. Serlemitsos
- Robert M. Stephens
- Michael T. Suffredini
- Richard Zurek
2015
- Raymond G. Clinton Jr.
- Carl Preston Jones
2016
- James O. Arnold
- Perry L. Becker
- Jeri Buchholz
- Ricky W. Butler
- Edward R. Generazio
- Linda M. Jensen
- Jack King
- Jennifer C. Kunz
- Michael F. O'Brien
- William Oegerle
- Patrick Scheuermann
- Piers J. Sellers
- J. William Sikora
- Teresa Vanhooser
2017
- Ellen Ochoa
- Dolores A. Holland
- Dava J. Newman
- Steven J. Kempler
- Michael Hesse[18]
See also
- List of NASA awards
References
- Morris, John S. (1961) "President Will Give Medal to Astronaut", The New York Times, May 7, 1961.
- "mach-buster.co.uk".
- "President Kennedy Awards the NASA Distinguished Service Medal to Major Gordon Cooper, 21 May 1963". JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.
- Schudel, Matt (16 November 2005). "Willis Shapley Dies". Washington Post. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- "appa". history.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- "Astronaut Bio: Robert L. Crippen (07\2001)".
- "Astronaut Bio: Franklin Story Musgrave (M.D.)".
- http://www.marginata.com/quantum/aldridge.asp
- "Chief Of Staff Courtney Stadd Announces Plans To Leave Agency". NASA Newsroom. May 27, 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- James Voss Archived 2010-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
- "Astronaut Bio: William McCool 5/04".
- "NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Honors Employees at Annual Awards Ceremony".
- NASA - Tampa Native Hendriksen Receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- "Christopher Scolese Receives the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (200908120001HQ)".
- "NASA Agency Honor Awards 2010" (PDF). NASA.
- "Distinguished Service Medal" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-03.
- "NASA Awards" (PDF). Spaceport News. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- "Distinguished Public Service Medal Honorees". 7 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2018.