NEW ORLEANS — NASA’s Stennis Space Center employee Thomas Lipp of New Orleans received the prestigious Space Flight Awareness (SFA) Silver Snoopy award June 26 during an onsite ceremony.
Lipp is a senior manufacturing engineer with Aerojet Rocketdyne at Stennis. He was honored for key contributions during the transition of space shuttle main engine assembly operations to RS-25 rocket engine operations for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Lipp made invaluable contributions in preparing and delivering the RS-25 engines for the first flight of the SLS rocket, Exploration Mission-1.
Astronaut Victor Glover presented the award. Lipp received a Silver Snoopy lapel pin flown aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft during its Exploration Flight Test-1 in December 2014, along with a letter of commendation and certificate signed by Glover.
Glover was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2013. He completed astronaut candidate training in 2015, including scientific and technical briefings, as well as intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training and water and wilderness survival training. Glover is now working in the exploration branch of the NASA Astronaut Office and is qualified for future assignment.
NASA’s SFA Program recognizes outstanding job performances and contributions by civil service and contract employees throughout the year and focuses on excellence in quality and safety in support of human spaceflight. The SFA Silver Snoopy Award is the astronauts’ personal award and is presented to less than 1 percent of the total NASA workforce annually. The award is presented by a member of the astronaut corps representing its core principles for outstanding flight safety and mission success.
For information about Silver Snoopy and other Space Flight Awareness awards, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/sfa/.
For information about Stennis Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/.
