December 7, 2005

Katherine K. Martin
Media Relations Office
(216)433-2406
katherine.martin@grc.nasa.gov
RELEASE: 05-052

AWARDS LINK ASTRONAUTS WITH NASA WORKERS

Astronauts Carl E. Walz and Michael T. Good visited NASA's Glenn

Research Center, Cleveland, to present 27 civil servant and support
service employees with Space Flight Awareness Motivation and
Recognition Program awards.

"Through their cutting edge research, these employees definitely have

distinguished themselves in their work," said Glenn Center Director
Dr. Julian M. Earls. "Their efforts resulted in improvements in the
space shuttle and contributed to the safety of our nation's astronaut
corps."

Fifteen employees received a Silver Snoopy Award, the Astronauts'

personal achievement award that recognizes an individual's
outstanding job performance and commitment to flight safety and
mission success. To signify the uniqueness of the award, the
recipients were presented sterling silver Snoopy lapel pins that were
flown on a space shuttle mission. All awardees were also given
certificates and letters of commendation, personally signed by the
astronauts, citing their appreciation of the awardees' efforts.

Twelve employees received two team awards. These awards are presented
to a group of employees who have demonstrated exemplary teamwork
while accomplishing a significant task or goal in support of NASA's
space flight programs. A certificate and a Team Award lapel pin were
presented to each of these team members.

Walz, a Cleveland native, served as a mission specialist on Space

Shuttle Discovery (1993) and Space Shuttle Atlantis (1996). He also
served as a flight engineer on Space Shuttle Columbia (1994) and on
the International Space Station (2001-2002). Walz is a retired U.S.
Air Force Colonel. He is currently serving as the Manager for the
Life Support and Habitation program of the Exploration Systems
Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.

Good, also a Cleveland area native, has logged over 2,000 hours of
flight in more than 30 different aircraft. He has served as
instructor for weapon systems and as an F-15 test weapon systems
officer. Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Good
completed two years of training and evaluation. He has been assigned
technical duties in the Astronaut Office Advanced Vehicles Branch and
will serve in this capacity until assigned to a space flight.

A full list of awardees as well as the areas in Glenn in which they

work, a description of the work for which they were awarded and their
hometowns, follows:

Sharon Ambro Reinke, Fairview Park, (Hernandez Engineering, Inc.)

supporting the Exploration Systems Division, for developing multiple
requirements documents and subsequently tracking and ensuring the
completion of required flight hardware verifications for the Fluids
and Combustion Facility.

Frank G. Gati, Brunswick, Mission Operations and Integration Projects

Office, for his instrumental role in completing the development of
the Fluids Integration Rack (FIR) to be flown on the International
Space Station. The FIR will conduct fluid physics and advanced life
support technology investigations that will help achieve the Vision
for Space Exploration.

Jeffery S. Hojnicki, Avon, Power and Communication Systems Analysis

Office, for conceiving and leading the development of world-class
International Space Station Electrical Power System analysis
capabilities at NASA, leading to the System's safe operation.

Warren Holt, Parma Heights, (Hernandez Engineering, Inc.) supporting

the Mission Operations and Integration Projects Office, for his
crucial role in the build-up, assembly and check-out of the designs
for the Combustion Integrated Rack and the Fluids Integrated Rack
Crew Training Units.

James Imburgia, Brook Park, (Hernandez Engineering, Inc.) supporting

the Mission Operations and Integration Projects Office, for his
technical skills, dedication and passion in performing the build-up,
assembly and check-out of the Crew Training Units for the Combustion
Integrated Rack and the Fluids Integrated Rack.

Bradley A. Lerch, North Ridgeville, Life Prediction Branch, for

developing, coordinating and leading the effort to better understand
the mechanical properties and overall behavior of ice under the high
strain-rate loading conditions that occur when ice is shed from the
space shuttle's external tank.

Rebecca A. MacKay, Strongsville, Materials Division, for serving as

the NASA Engineering and Safety Center materials consultant for the
niobium thruster cracking issue on the space shuttle's Reaction
Control System. Her work focused on substantiating the root cause of
cracking and determining if the cracks were likely to grow.

Pappu L. N. Murthy, North Olmsted, Life Prediction Branch, for his

contributions as the structures lead in the Composite Overwrapped
Pressure Vessel Safety Assessment that led to the safe operation and
maintenance of pressure vessel safety subsystems in STS-114 space
shuttle mission.

Tracy A. Neff, Medina, (Hernandez Engineering, Inc.) supporting the

Mission Operations and Integration Projects Office, for serving as
the lead engineer for the Fluid Combustion Facility Crew Training
Unit development team.

Terence F. O'Malley, Fairview Park, Mission Operations and Integration

Projects Office, for his instrumental role in completing the
development of the Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) to be flown on
the International Space Station. The CIR will accommodate combustion
science investigations that address spacecraft fire detection,
prevention and suppression while in space.

Santo Padula, Valley City, Advanced Metallics Branch, for his role in
acquiring, processing and validating high-fidelity data from load
cells and strain measurement equipment that was instrumental in the
impact testing program for assuring the safety of the space shuttle's
return to flight.

Roy M. Sullivan, North Ridgeville, Life Prediction Branch, for his

work in performing critical structural analyses of the space shuttle
reusable solid rocket motor nozzle aft exit cone and demonstrating
the causal relation between strain on the solid rocket motor and the
lifting action of insulation pieces.

Anita Tenteris-Noebe, Medina, (Science Applications International

Corporation), supporting the Quality Management Office, for
performing quality assurance tasks throughout ballistic impact
testing of reinforced carbon-carbon panels in connection with
returning the space shuttle safely to flight.

John C. Thesken, Rocky River, (OAI) supporting the Life Prediction

Branch, for his key role in developing analytical tools that are used
by space shuttle operations personnel to assist in modifying space
shuttle composite overwrap pressure vessel operations to extend their
life.

Thomas Vannuyen, Strongsville, Mechanical and Rotating Systems Branch,

for work on three critical tasks related to the shuttle return to
flight: the shuttle cable tray test, the rudder speed brake gear
scuffing test, and the design for the wind tunnel test bellows.

Team Award Recipients

Chris Berg, now at NASA's Kennedy Space Center: Mike Capelety,

Grafton; Tim Gaydos, Strongsville; Bruce Jackson, Sagamore Hills;
Anita Tenteris-Noebe (Hernandez Engineering, Inc.), Medina; members
of the NASA Glenn Impact Testing Quality Assurance Team for their
work in maintaining stringent quality assurance controls for all
aspects of testing, documentation and data collection involved in the
ballistic impact testing efforts supporting STS-114 and beyond. James
Bodis, Cleveland; Laura Cosgriff, Lakewood; Richard Martin,
Willowick; Michelle Murphy, Cleveland; Quentin Schwinn, Lorain; Peter
Tate, Parma; and Vincent Reich, Strongsville, members of the NASA
Glenn Impact Testing Imaging and Non-Destructive Evaluation Team, for
their work in performing comprehensive non-destructive imaging of
each space shuttle panel evaluated for Glenn's Ballistic Impact
Testing Program. This team also assembled an extensive database of
imagery that is now utilized throughout the Space Shuttle Program.

Portraits of award recipients are available upon request.

More information about the awards is available online:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/sfa/

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