Aerospace Presents Top Award to Engineering Team Instrumental in Recovering Use of National Security Spacecraft
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Sept. 18, 2008) -- The engineering team of Russell E. Averill, Marc D. DiPrinzio, Dr. Wayne P. Hallman, Robert E. Markin, Dr. Roger A. Metzler, and Ty B. Rudder has received The Aerospace Corporation’s highest honor, the Trustees’ Distinguished Achievement Award.
The award was presented by Lt. Gen. Donald L. Cromer (USAF, Ret.), chair of The Aerospace Corporation’s Board of Trustees, during a convocation held today at the company’s headquarters in El Segundo, Calif.
The team was recognized for “sustained excellence in recovering performance of a national security [space] program.”
According to the citation and accompanying documentation, the team’s efforts in investigating and providing solutions for “a major spacecraft anomaly of great import to the national intelligence efforts of the United States” resulted in “a remarkable recovery of program performance” expected to “fulfill the operational requirements of the mission to a degree not considered possible when the anomaly was discovered.”
Also at the convocation, President and CEO Dr. Wanda M. Austin presented President’s Achievement Awards to members of another team and two individuals.
The team of Dr. Stephen S. Bayliss, Dr. Richard G. Casten, Willard Downs III, Dr. Ira A. Gura, and Dr. Ronald G. Hopkins was recognized for “outstanding commitment in providing the critical analytic foundation for major national security program acquisition decisions.”
Accepting individual awards were Dr. Boyd J. Carter and Marcus A. Shaw.
Boyd was recognized for “sustained excellence and distinctive contributions in power systems acquisition and operations for national security programs” while Shaw was cited for “repeated extraordinary leadership and performance in addressing complex technical, political, and programmatic issues of critical importance to achieving NASA top-level strategic goals.”
The awards convocation is held annually to recognize exceptional achievements that advance the nation’s space and defense capabilities.
The Aerospace Corporation is an independent, nonprofit company that provides objective technical analyses and assessments for national security space programs and selected civil and commercial space programs in the national interest.
Contact Dave Jonta, 310-336-5041, david.l.jonta@aero.org
