NASA Distinguished Service Medal

NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
TypeMedal
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"
CountryUnited States
Presented bythe National Aeronautics and Space Administration
EligibilityFederal government employees
StatusActive
EstablishedJuly 29, 1959
First awarded1959
NASA Distinguished Service Ribbon
Precedence
Next (higher)Congressional Space Medal of Honor
EquivalentDistinguished Public Service Medal
Next (lower)Outstanding Leadership 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.

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).

James Webb's award, 1 November 1968

Recipients

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1959

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  • John W. Crowley, Jr., NASA Director of Aeronautical and Space Research[1]

1961

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1962

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1963

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1965

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1968

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1969

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1970

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1971

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1972

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1973

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1974

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1975

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1976

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  • Charles J. Donlan
  • Isaac T. Gillam
  • Charles R. Gunn
  • William M. Lohse
  • Charles W. Mathews
  • John J. Neilon
  • Leonard Roberts
  • William R. Schindler

1977

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1978

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1980

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  • William H. Bayley

1981

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1984

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1988

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1991

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1992

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1994

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  • Joseph H Rothenberg

1995

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  • Dr. Charles J. Pellerin
  • Bill G. Aldridge[16]

1996

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  • Gerald M. Smith
  • William J. O'Neil

1997

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2000

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  • Joseph H Rothenberg

2001

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2002

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2004

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2005

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2006

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2007

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  • Douglas Hendriksen[23]

2008

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2009

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2010

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[25]

2011

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2012

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  • Frank J. Benz[26]
  • Byron Butler
  • Sam V. Digesu
  • Christopher J. Ferguson
  • David C. Folta
  • Michael E. Fossum
  • Mark E. Kelly
  • Alan J. Lindenmoyer
  • David M. Martin[27]
  • Ann McNair
  • Robert R. Meyer
  • Martin G. Mlynczak
  • Philip E. Phillips[27]
  • Craig L. Purdy
  • Daniel C. Reda
  • Joseph Savino
  • Phillip A. Sabelhaus
  • Peter J. Serlemitsos
  • Robert M. Stephens
  • Michael T. Suffredini
  • Richard Zurek

2015

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  • Raymond G. Clinton Jr.
  • Carl Preston Jones
  • Ellen Ochoa


2016

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  • 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

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2018

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[29]

  • Theodore Adams
  • Gale Allen[30]
  • Christine Belcastro
  • John Charles
  • Charles Dovale
  • Philip Eberspeaker[30]
  • James Free[30]
  • Cornelis Gehrels
  • Pamela Hanes
  • Kenneth Human[30]
  • Robert Jacobs
  • Debra Johnson
  • Lauren Leo[30]
  • Robert Lightfoot[30]
  • Dawn Lowe
  • Joel Montalbano
  • Ellen Ochoa[30]
  • Krista Paquin[30]
  • Jonathan Pettus[30]
  • Dennis Reuter
  • Lesa Roe[30]
  • Michael Sampson
  • Christopher Singer[30]
  • Hanwant Singh
  • Gregory Williams[30]
  • Josef Wonsever
  • Joseph Zawodny

2019

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[31]

  • Richard Antcliff
  • Richard Barney
  • Darren Bedell
  • Dwayne C. Brown
  • Thomas Bryan
  • Layne Carter
  • Ricky Cissom
  • Joseph Cuzzupoli
  • William DeLoach
  • Daniel Dittman
  • Edward Fein
  • Michael Freilich
  • Michael Good
  • Tyrell Hawkins
  • William Hicks
  • Andrew Hunter
  • Dorsie Jones
  • Vicki Kloeris
  • Joseph Madden
  • Edward Masuoka
  • Todd May
  • William Myers
  • Jim Reuter
  • Melvin Scruggs
  • Robert Scully
  • Jaiwon Shin
  • Patrick Simpkins
  • Steven Sullivan
  • Eric Thaxton
  • Michael Van Houten
  • Brenton Weathered
  • Terry Wilcutt

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Morris, John S. (1961) "President Will Give Medal to Astronaut", The New York Times, May 7, 1961.
  2. ^ "Distinguished Service Medal, NASA, 1961, Alan Shepard". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Virgil I. Grissom (Lieutenant Colonel, USAF)" (PDF). NASA. December 1997. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "President John F. Kennedy Pins NASA Distinguished Service Medal on John Glenn". NASA. August 7, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "Remarks at the presentation of NASA's Distinguished Service Medal to Dr. Robert R. Gilruth and Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr., 23 February 1962". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. August 7, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "Scott Carpenter". NASA. October 2013. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  7. ^ "mach-buster.co.uk".
  8. ^ "President Kennedy Awards the NASA Distinguished Service Medal to Major Gordon Cooper, 21 May 1963". JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.
  9. ^ a b Schudel, Matt (16 November 2005). "Willis Shapley Dies". Washington Post. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  10. ^ "appa". history.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Robert L. Crippen (07\2001)". 11 February 2015.
  12. ^ "NASA Medals Historical Recipients" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Biographical Sketch" (PDF). NASA. December 1986. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Robert O. Aller, 76". Washington Post. June 6, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  15. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Franklin Story Musgrave (M.D.)". 11 February 2015.
  16. ^ "NASA medal to Aldridge".
  17. ^ "Chief Of Staff Courtney Stadd Announces Plans To Leave Agency". NASA Newsroom. May 27, 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  18. ^ James Voss Archived 2010-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Astronaut Bio: William McCool 5/04". 11 February 2015.
  20. ^ "NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Honors Employees at Annual Awards Ceremony".
  21. ^ JPL - JPL's New Associate Director Led Successful Mars Exploration
  22. ^ "Historical Recipient List" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  23. ^ NASA – Tampa Native Hendriksen Receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal
  24. ^ "Christopher Scolese Receives the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (200908120001HQ)". 12 August 2009.
  25. ^ "NASA Agency Honor Awards 2010" (PDF). NASA.
  26. ^ "Distinguished Service Medal" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-03.
  27. ^ a b "NASA Awards" (PDF). Spaceport News. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  28. ^ "Distinguished Public Service Medal Honorees". 7 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  29. ^ "NASA Agency Honor Awards 2018" (PDF). NASA.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Agency Honor Award was awarded between April 2, 2017, and May 31, 2018, outside the normal awards cycle
  31. ^ "2019 Administrator's Agency Honor Awards" (PDF). August 28, 2019.
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