Eight members of NASA Glenn Research Center’s Space Flight Systems workforce received NASA Silver Snoopy Awards for outstanding performance and professional dedication to human spaceflight safety or mission success. Each year, the agency’s Astronaut Office awards the Silver Snoopy pin, which has stood as a symbol of spaceflight excellence since 1968, to less than one percent of the eligible workforce.

Janet Kavandi, NASA Glenn’s center director, and astronaut Nicole Mann presented the awards on Nov. 13 to the following recipients:

Kurt J. Hack, who works in the Mission Architecture and Analysis Branch, was responsible for coordinating with multiple NASA and international partners to design and refine the human Mars architecture. His leadership with that team, and with the Asteroid Redirect Mission, helped develop the Power and Propulsion Element, a new spacecraft effort led by Glenn.

Thomas M. Krivanek, working within the Systems Engineering and Architecture Division, used his extensive expertise in space flight hardware development to design concepts, advance materials development, outline acquisition strategies and improve separation simulations for the Space Launch System’s Universal Stage Adapter. Krivanek’s efforts ensured the required subsystems met all readiness, safety and cost requirements.

Peter W. McCallum, while assigned to the Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office, demonstrated his high level of expertise as chair of several pre-ship review boards. Under McCallum’s guidance, the boards were responsible for completing more than 30 different flight research investigations under the Space Flight Systems Directorate, all with varying degrees of technical complexity, safety considerations and scientific objectives.

Marit E. Meyer, working within the Combustion Physics and Reacting Processes Branch, was instrumental in advancing NASA’s understanding of spacecraft fire detection systems, dust management and air quality requirements. Through a variety of experiments and tests, which she personally developed, Meyer has significantly aided in the enhancement of crew safety and the future development of spacecraft and habitats.

Stephen W. Ryan, who works in the Aeronautics and Ground-Based Systems Branch, was critical in verifying mission and fault management algorithms, developing prototype code and associated modeling tools and processes for the Space Launch System. Ultimately, Ryan was able to expedite vehicle management end-to-end testbed deliverables far ahead of project deadlines.  

Benjamin S. VanLear, while working in the Manufacturing Engineering and Process Branch, was assigned to the Orion Program Office, where he provided invaluable insight on modeling and simulation for manufacturability. VanLear also serves as one of NASA’s ESA (European Space Agency) liaisons in regards to Orion’s service module, where he is responsible for maintaining collaborative integration with NASA’s European partners.

Raymond P. Wade, working within the Avionics Branch, developed innovative, lightweight, low-power avionics packages, both ground and flight, for the Radio Frequency Mass Gauge payload in support of the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office’s Robotic Refueling Mission-3. Wade used his expertise and innovative design techniques to retrofit existing commercial hardware that will be deployed to the International Space Station on a state-of-the-art low-gravity cryogenic propellant gauge system.

Glenda F. Yee, who works in the Aeronautics and Ground-Based Systems Branch, was critical in the development of the radio frequency mass gauge flight system, which will be demonstrated on for the Robotic Refueling Mission 3. Yee’s broad technical expertise allowed her to develop tailored approaches to system development and mentor less-experienced team members, helping to ensure successful development of the flight system.

In addition to the Silver Snoopy Awards, several other NASA Glenn personnel were acknowledged with Space Flight Awareness Awards (SFA). The SFA Awards program is a NASA-managed motivational and recognition program for civil servants and contractors who have major responsibilities for human spaceflight mission success.

Michael L. Belair, who works in the Chemical and Thermal Propulsion Systems Branch, received the SFA Honoree Award for his contributions to the Orion European Service Module (ESM). As the engineer responsible for oversight of the ESM auxiliary engine, Belair was instrumental in timely delivery of flight hardware while ensuring that it met all safety and performance requirements.

Carrie L. Green, who is assigned to the Reliability and System Safety Engineering Branch, received the SFA Honoree Award for her commitment to safety and technical leadership for the ESM Propulsion Subsystem Project. As the Safety and Mission Assurance lead, Green provided oversight to ESA, ensuring collaborative communication when resolving safety concerns.

Elliot A. Schmidt, while working in the Structural Mechanics Branch, received the SFA Trailblazer Award for contributions to the commissioning of the Mechanical Vibration Facility and the ESM test campaign. Schmidt delivered tools that previously did not exist to ensure reliable and accurate data capture, analysis and validation, increasing efficiency during a very demanding test campaign.

Bartlomiej F. Zalewski, an employee of Zin Technologies, Inc., received the SFA Trailblazer Award for his innovative work in developing a simulation tool to explore non-linear affects during launch vehicle separation for the Space Launch System. Prior to Zalewski’s program development efforts, researchers would spend months developing simulation models and analysis.

A team of researchers and engineers from various NASA centers and industry partners were awarded the SFA Team Award for their work developing new software tools to advance functional fault modeling simulations, analysis and verification, and the demonstrated use of those tools to improve the safety of human exploration. Those team members are: Eric Barszcz of NASA Ames Research Center, Rachel Bis of John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Christopher Fulton of Zin Technologies, Inc. in Cleveland, Kevin Melcher of NASA Glenn, William Maul of Vantage Partners, LLC. in Cleveland, and Rebecca Oostdyk of Stringer Ghafffarian Technologies, Inc.

For more information about NASA Glenn, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/glenn