COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 28, 2014) —  A. Thomas Young has been chosen to receive the Space Foundation’s highest honor — the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award, to be presented at a special luncheon co-sponsored by Lockheed Martin on May 21. The luncheon is a featured event of the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium, held at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA.

Young was nominated for the award by Gen. Thomas S. Moorman, Jr., USAF, (Ret.), former vice chief of staff of the USAF, former head of Air Force Space Command, former chief of staff of the National Reconnaissance Office, director emeritus of the Space Foundation Board of Directors and 2012 Hill Award recipient.

In his nomination, Moorman praised Young’s lifetime achievements. “Tom’s long and distinguished career, and his extraordinary contributions and selfless commitment to the nation’s space program, exemplify the achievements the Hill Award seeks to recognize.”

Named for the Space Foundation’s former, long-time chairman, the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award is one of the global space community’s highest honors. Past recipients have included Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Norman Augustine and Dr. Sally Ride, among others.

The award recognizes outstanding lifetime contributions to the betterment of humankind through the exploration, development and use of space, or through use of space technology, information or resources. Tickets for the award luncheon can be purchased by Space Symposium attendees at www.spacesymposium.org.

About Young
During his 20 years at NASA, Young managed numerous technically challenging programs including serving as the mission director of the 1976 Viking landings on Mars. He held a variety of critical leadership positions at the agency, including: deputy director of the Ames Research Center; director, Planetary Program, Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters; and director of the Goddard Spaceflight Center. In the course of his NASA service, he received numerous awards and decorations, including the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (for his contributions to the Voyager Program), the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award, the Distinguished Executive Award and NASA’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal.

Young joined Martin Marietta Corporation in 1982 as vice president of aerospace research, and within eight years, he rose to become president and chief operating officer of the company. With Martin Marietta’s merger with Lockheed Martin, he was appointed to the position of executive vice president of the new Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Since his retirement from Lockheed Martin, Young has remained active across a broad range of scientific, technical and educational endeavors. He is president of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Foundation and a member of the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Astronautical Society and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Over the course of the last 10-15 years, Young has become the “go-to-guy” to lead reviews of troubled space programs and examinations of critical space policy, organization and management issues. These have included: chairing the NASA Mars Independent Assessment Team (2000); the International Space Station Management and Cost Evaluation Committee (2001); the Defense Science Board (DSB)/Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (AFSAB) review of the Acquisition of National Security Space Programs (2003); the CSIS study of the Health of the US Industrial Base and the Impact of Export Controls (2008); the Congressionally-mandated review of the Organization and Management of National Security Space (2008), and most recently, the Independent Review Team examination of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and the independent review of NOAA’s weather satellite enterprise.

Young received his Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering and Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degrees in 1961 from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Management degree in 1972 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Sloan Fellow.

About the Space Symposium
The Space Foundation’s 30th Space Symposium will be held May 19-22 at The Broadmoor Hotel, and offers panels covering all aspects of space, plus special events and presentation of prestigious space-related awards.

More than 100 top civil and military space leaders from the U.S. and abroad are slated to speak, including:

  • Brig. Gen. Yves Arnaud, FAF, Commander, Joint Space Command, French Ministry of Defense
  • Charles F. Bolden, Jr., NASA Administrator
  • Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper, USAF (Ret.), Director of National Intelligence
  • Matthew J. Desch, Chief Executive Officer, Iridium Communications, Inc.
  • Michael C. Gass, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Launch Alliance (ULA)
  • Yasushi Horikawa, Ph.D., Chairman, United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
  • Letitia A. Long, Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  • Dr. Ger Nieuwpoort, Director,  Netherlands Space Office
  • Gen. William L. Shelton, USAF, Commander, Air Force Space Command
  • Deborah Westphal, Managing Director, Toffler Associates

Co-sponsors
The Space Symposium officially kicks off Monday evening, May 19, with a spectacular opening ceremony, co-sponsored by Northrop Grumman. Other event co-sponsors include: a.i. solutions; Aerojet Rocketdyne; Airbus Group, Inc.; Arianespace; ATK; Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; Booz Allen Hamilton Colorado Space Business Roundtable (CSBR); Lockheed Martin; MetiSpace Technologies, Inc.; Millennium Engineering and Integration Company; MOOG; PAE; Raytheon; Scitor Corporation; SES Government Solutions; Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC); SpaceX; SSL; Stellar Solutions,Inc.; The Boeing Company; and United Launch Alliance. Aviation Week, SatNews Publishers and SpaceNews are media partners.

Register Now for Space Symposium and Cyber 1.4
The 30th Space Symposium is preceded by a full-day cyberspace conference, Cyber 1.4 on Monday, May 19, at The Broadmoor Hotel. Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX), chairman of the United States House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, will give the Cyber 1.4 keynote speech. See more details, and register for both the Symposium and Cyber 1.4 at www.SpaceSymposium.org.

About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983, the Space Foundation is the foremost advocate for all sectors of space, and is a global, nonprofit leader in space awareness activities, educational programs and major industry events, including the annual Space Symposium, in support of its mission “to advance space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity.” Space Foundation world headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., features a public Discovery Center including the El Pomar Space Gallery and the Northrop Grumman Science Center featuring Science On a Sphere®, and is a member of the American Alliance of Museums. The Space Foundation has a field office in Houston, and from its Washington, D.C., office, conducts government affairs, publishes The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity and provides three indexes that track daily U.S. stock market performance of the space industry. Through its Space Certification™ and Space Technology Hall of Fame® programs, the Space Foundation recognizes space-based technologies and innovations that have been adapted to improve life on Earth. Visit www.SpaceFoundation.org, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and read our e-newsletter Space Watch.