NASA Distinguished Service Medal

This article is about NASA-awarded Distinguished Service Medal. For other U.S. versions, see Distinguished Service Medal (United States).

NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Country	United States
Type	Medal
Eligibility	Government employees only
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 the highest award which may 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 on Aeronautics and was inherited by NASA. The first NASA version (type I), featuring the NASA seal, was issued from 1959 until 1961, when it was replaced by the current type II medal (shown). Only three type I medals were awarded—to John W. Crowley, NASA Director of Aeronautical and Space Research; and Mercury astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom.

Awarded James Webb, 1 November 1968.

NASA Distinguished Service Medal

1959

• John W. Crowley, Jr. (first award)^[1]

1961

• Alan Shepard (May 8, 1961)
• Virgil I. Grissom (July 22, 1961)

1962

• John Glenn
• Wally Schirra (October 15, 1962)
• Forrest S. Petersen^[2] – X-15 pilot

1968

• James Webb

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 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 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 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 Alan B. Shepard 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

1973

George W. S. Abbey Alan L. Bean Leland F. Belew Charles A. Berry Aleck C. Bond Anthony J. Calio Eugene A. Cernan Aaron Cohen Charles Conrad Richard W. Cook John H. Disher Paul C. Donnelly Ronald E. Evans Arnold W. Frutkin

Owen K. Garriott Ernst D. 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

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 Thomas P. Stafford 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 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 Milton O. Thompson Gerald M. Truszynski

1981

• Robert L. Crippen^[3]
• Paul C. Donnelly

1992

• Berrien Moore III

2000

• No awards

2001

• Jack Brooks
• Claude Nicollier
• Courtney Stadd^[4]
• James S. Voss^[5]

2002

• Scott E. Parazynski

2003

• Kalpana Chawla
• William McCool^[6]
• Axel Roth^[7]

2004

• Lott W. Brantley Jr.

2007

• Douglas Hendriksen^[8]

2008

• Walter Cunningham
• Donn Eisele
• Fuk Li
• Walter Schirra
• E. Myles Standish
• Richard Sunseri

2009

• Christopher Scolese^[9]

2010^[10]

David K. Alonso Scott D. Altman John M. Grunsfeld 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

See also

• List of NASA awards

References

1. ^ Morris, John S. (1961) "President Will Give Medal to Astronaut", The New York Times, May 7 1961.
2. ^ http://www.mach-buster.co.uk/#/petersen-to-ridley/4532806536
3. ^ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/crippen-rl.html
4. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtney_Stadd
5. ^ http://www.colorado.edu/aerospace/voss_james.html
6. ^ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccool.html
7. ^ http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=12263
8. ^ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/releases/2007/release-20070629b.html
9. ^ http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/3820885390/
10. ^ https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/awardbrochure050310_v3.pdf?rhid=1000&did=712198&type=released

External links

• NASA awards
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration Honor Awards (1969-1978)