NASA Distinguished Service Medal

NASA Distinguished Service 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).
Recipients
1959
John W. Crowley, Jr., NASA Director of Aeronautical and Space Research
1961
Alan Shepard (May 8)
Virgil I. Grissom (July 22)
1962
John Glenn
Robert Gilruth
Scott Carpenter
Wally Schirra (October 15)
Forrest S. Petersen, X-15 pilot
Robert White, X-15 pilot
Joseph A. Walker, X-15 pilot
Walter C. Williams
1963
Gordon Cooper
1965
Wally Schirra (December 30) (second award)
1968
James Webb
Alexander Flax
1969
1970
Edwin E. Aldrin
Neil A. Armstrong
Alan L. Bean
Michael Collins
Charles Conrad
Richard F. Gordon
Fred W. Haise
James A. Lovell (second award)
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 (second award)
Alan B. Shepard (second award)
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 (second award)
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1980
William H. Bayley
1981
Robert L. Crippen
Paul C. Donnelly
James B. Odom
Andrew J. Stofan
John F. Yardley
Walter C. Williams (second award)
1984
Robert O. Aller
1988
Willis H. Shapley (second award)
1991
John R. Casani
1992
Berrien Moore III
Mark Albrecht
Story Musgrave
1994
Joseph H Rothenberg
1995
Dr. Charles J. Pellerin
Bill G. Aldridge
1996
Gerald M. Smith
2000
Joseph H Rothenberg
2001
Jack Brooks
Claude Nicollier
Courtney Stadd
James S. Voss
Joseph Philip Loftus
2002
Scott E. Parazynski
2004
Kalpana Chawla
William McCool
Axel Roth
Brock "Randy" Stone
Lott W. Brantley Jr.
G. Scott Hubbard
Edward T. Lu
2005
Firouz Naderi
2006
Eileen M. Collins
2007
Douglas Hendriksen
2008
Walter Cunningham
Donn Eisele
Fuk Li
Walter Schirra (Third Award)
E. Myles Standish
Richard Sunseri
2009
Christopher Scolese
Stephanie D. Wilson
2010
2011
2012
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
See also
List of NASA awards
References
External links
NASA awards
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Honor Awards (1969–1978)
List of NASA medal recipients
Awards and decorations of NASA
Awards established in 1959