GULFPORT, Miss. — Employees at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, received NASA’s prestigious Space Flight Awareness Silver Snoopy award Aug. 21 during an onsite ceremony at NASA Stennis.
The following NASA employees were among those awarded the award named after the Charles Schulz character that “symbolizes the intent and spirit of Space Flight Awareness”:
· Allen Blow – a native of Yorktown, Virginia, and resident of New Orleans
· Michael Brown – a native of Cerritos, California, and resident of Slidell, Louisiana
· Benjamin Stevens – a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and resident of Picayune, Mississippi
Allen Blow is a principal engineer for Syncom Space Services at NASA Stennis. He received the honor for providing engineering services to ensure the success of the SLS (Space Launch System) Exploration Upper Stage test project on the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) and the RS-25 engine test project on the Fred Haise Test Stand. According to LinkedIn, Blow is a University of New Orleans graduate with a degree in civil engineering.
Michael Brown is a quality engineer for Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, at NASA Stennis. He received the honor for his commitment to test flight support, attention to detail, and unwavering passion for spaceflight.
Originally from Lake Charles, Benjamin Stevens is a NASA information technology specialist for the NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis. Stevens received the honor for his expertise toward improving the integration and security posture of the NASA Shared Services Center’s information technology telecommunications and networking environment. His work enables shared services delivery to the agency’s engineers, scientists, researchers, and administrative professionals.
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, a native of Baltimore presented the award to the aforementioned recipients. Stevens received a Silver Snoopy lapel pin flown to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX-10 flight in 2017 and flown again aboard the SpaceX Crew-6 flight in 2023. Wiseman will be one of four astronauts flying around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path toward long-term scientific lunar exploration. The 10- day flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, and the Orion spacecraft for the first time with astronauts.
Wiseman has a master’s degree in systems engineering and was selected in 2009 as
one of nine members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. He completed astronaut
training in May 2011 and served as flight engineer aboard the International Space
Station for Expedition 41. Prior to being assigned commander for Artemis II, Wiseman
served as chief of the astronaut office from 2020 through 2022.
NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program recognizes outstanding job performances
and contributions by civil servants and contract employees and focuses on excellence in
quality and safety in support of human spaceflight. The Silver Snoopy is the astronauts’
personal award and is presented to less than 1 percent of the total NASA workforce
annually. The award is always presented by a member of the astronaut corps representing its core principles for outstanding flight safety and mission success.
Of all the SFA Awards, the Silver Snoopy best symbolizes the intent and spirit of Space Flight Awareness. An astronaut always presents the Silver Snoopy because it is the astronauts’ own award for outstanding performance, contributing to flight safety and mission success. Fewer than one percent of the aerospace program workforce receive it annually, making it a special honor to receive this award.
The award is a sterling silver Snoopy lapel pin that has flown in space, plus a certificate of appreciation and commendation letter for the employee, both signed by the astronaut. Charles Schulz’s involvement with NASA began a year earlier than the 1969 flight of Apollo 10 when he was approached by NASA with a request to use Snoopy as their safety mascot. The Silver Snoopy Award program was instituted to improve the safety record of NASA employees and contractors.
