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News | Jan. 16, 2019

NASA honors DCMA employees with Space Flight Awareness Awards

By Luis Delgadillo Western Regional Command

In 2018, one of the Defense Contract Management Agency Western Regional Command’s main areas of expertise, space systems, or in this case NASA programs, once again received special recognition from the space agency.

The following individuals and teams were recognized for their work.

The Silver Snoopy Award

From more than 200 miles high to the lapel of a coat here on earth. That is how far one of NASA’s 2018 Silver Snoopy pins travels before resting on the chest of a Defense Contract Management Agency employee.

In 2018, four DCMA Western Regional Command employees earned the Silver Snoopy Award. Most recently, NASA honored Robert J. Blaue during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex in Florida, Oct. 17.

Blaue works at the Kennedy Space Center as a quality assurance specialist for DCMA Northrop Grumman NASA Product Operations Utah. He's responsible for quality assurance work related to NASA’s Space Launch Systems program.

Other Silver Snoopy Award recipients in 2018 include:

Brad Atkinson, a quality assurance lead, DCMA Northrop Grumman NASA Product Operations Utah.

Perry Garcia, a quality assurance specialist with DCMA Phoenix and John Lloyd, a quality assurance lead with DCMA Lockheed Martin Denver.

According to the award web site, “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.”

The award is a sterling silver Snoopy lapel pin that has flown in space on a Space Shuttle mission, plus a certificate of appreciation and commendation letter for the employee, both signed by the astronaut.

Space Flight Awareness Management Award

A SFA Management Award went to John Valverde, from DCMA NASA Product Operations. The award recognizes outstanding leaders who exemplify the following characteristics necessary for flight safety and mission success:

  • Loyalty – Demonstrated consistence, fairness, trust, and truthfulness in interpersonal relationships.
  • Empowerment - Provides the tools, authority, and trust, which allow employees to do their job and fully employ their individual talents, creativity, and     initiative.
  • Accountability – Sets continuous improvement goals and measure performance against them.
  • Diversity – recognizes, understands, and appreciates that employees from different cultures and experiences view problems and opportunities differently.
  • Excellence – Performs in a superior manner. Continually looks for innovative ways to improve operations and produce outstanding results.
  • Respect – Displays professional esteem and courtesy to all employees, no matter how difficult the circumstances.
  • Sharing – Actively shares responsibility, authority, effort, enthusiasm, information, vision, talent, and credit.
  • Honesty – Maintains a fair, straightforward, honorable and open environment.
  • Integrity – Sets the example by always dealing ethically in all business relationships and by maintaining the highest personal standards.
  • Proactive – Always takes prompt, decisive action to avoid or resolve problems. Pursues opportunities and actively seeks innovative technology and      methods to enhance program objectives.

Space Flight Awareness Honoree Award

A SFA Honoree award went to Barry Ourso, also from DCMA NASA NPO. Ourso significantly contributed to the human space flight program to ensure flight safety and mission success. Potential awardees must meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Significantly contributed beyond his or her normal work requirement to the development and implementation of human spaceflight programs while ensuring quality and safety.
  • Perform a single specific achievement, which contributed towards attaining a particular program goal.
  • Contributed to one or more major cost saving/ cost avoidance.
  • Be instrumental in developing hardware, software, materials, process or operational improvements that increase reliability, efficiency, or performance.

Space Flight Awareness Trailblazer Award

Malia Paloian, general engineer with DCMA Phoenix, received the award for work supporting human space flight during the first seven years of her career. In addition, potential awardees must meet two or more criteria below:

  • Characterize innovation or creative initiative that demonstrates a significant contribution to the employees’ organization in support of NASA’s mission and goals.
  • Identify new, creative solutions to problems.
  • Embody strong work ethic including loyalty, honesty and integrity.
  • Work collaboratively with others to achieve a goal in supports of NASA’s mission.
  • Demonstrate steps towards establishing long-term vision and strategy.

Space Flight Awareness Team Award

Orion Program Support Team, DCMA Lockheed Martin Denver, received the team award for having significantly contributed to the human space flight program to ensure flight safety and mission success. Potential awardees must meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Contribute significantly beyond fundamental task accountabilities in support of the NASA programs.
  • Contribute, recommended, and/or implemented a means of improving the reliability, efficiency, accuracy, or safety of a particular human spaceflight program.
  • Sustain superior performance as part of a team effort over an extended period.
  • Recommend and/ or implement operational improvements to increase efficiency.
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is the country's next generation of crew piloted spacecraft.