Two NASA workers are being honored as a part of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, also called the Sammies, recognizing excellent federal workers who’re addressing lots of our nation’s best challenges.
Wealthy Burns of NASA’s Goddard House Flight Middle in Greenbelt, Maryland, and John Blevins of Marshall House Flight Middle in Huntsville, Alabama, had been chosen out of 350 nominees and are amongst 23 people and groups honored for his or her achievements as federal workers. They are going to be acknowledged at a ceremony in Washington on Tuesday, June 17, that additionally might be reside streamed on the Sammies website. The honorees might be counseled through movies and presenter remarks and obtain medals for his or her achievements.
Named after the founding father of the Partnership for Public Service, the 2025 Service to America Medals awards have fun federal workers who supplied vital public providers and made excellent contributions to the well being, security, and nationwide safety of our nation.
“Wealthy and John exemplify the spirit of exploration and repair that defines NASA and our nation’s civil servants,” stated performing NASA Administrator Janet Petro. “Their management, ingenuity, and dedication haven’t solely superior America’s house program but in addition impressed the following era of innovators. We’re proud to see their achievements acknowledged among the many highest of federal service.”
Burns was the mission supervisor of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Useful resource Identification, and Safety – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission to gather a pattern from an asteroid and oversaw operations from the developmental stage to the profitable touchdown of the spacecraft’s Pattern Return Capsule.
The mission launched on Sept. 18, 2016, and after an almost four-year journey, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft efficiently collected a pattern from the asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, 2020, which returned to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, offering scientists with 120 grams of pristine materials to check, the biggest quantity ever collected from an asteroid. Working to solidify OSIRIS-REx as a hit, Burns arrange a number of partnerships and communicated steadily with scientists, giant and small companies, NASA facilities, and others to make sure the mission’s imaginative and prescient was carried out although every section.
In the course of the mission, Burns needed to deal with distinctive challenges that required adapting to new conditions. These included enhancing flight software program to assist the spacecraft keep away from hazardous elements of Bennu’s rocky floor and dealing with NASA leaders to discover a solution to greatest shield the pattern collected from Bennu after a big stone propped the gathering canister open. Lastly, when the pattern was set to return to Earth, Burns labored extensively with NASA and army companions to organize for the touchdown, specializing in the security of the general public together with the integrity of the pattern to make sure the ultimate a part of the mission was a hit.
Burns helped OSIRIS-REx exceed its aims all whereas beneath the unique funds, permitting NASA to share a portion of the pattern with greater than 80 analysis initiatives and make new discoveries concerning the potential origins of life on our planet. The spacecraft, now often called Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Useful resource Identification and Safety – Apophis Explorer, is scheduled to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis in 2029.
“It’s humbling to simply accept an award based mostly on the achievements of the amazingly proficient, devoted, and modern OSIRIS-REx workforce,” Burns stated. “I think about myself privileged to be counted amongst a workforce of true explorers who let no impediment stand in the way in which of discovery.”
Blevins is the chief engineer for the House Launch System (SLS) rocket and is liable for the varied technical selections that must be made to make sure every mission is profitable. This included calculating structural wants, thermal analyses of the consequences, and research of vibrations, acoustics, propulsion integration, amongst different work.
Artemis I, the primary check flight of the SLS rocket, efficiently launched from NASA’s Kennedy House Middle in Florida on Nov. 16, 2022. Within the time main as much as and through launch, Blevins led the workforce integrating the {hardware} for the mission working to deal with sudden occasions whereas SLS was on the pad previous to launch. This included vital lightning storms and two hurricanes impacting Kennedy House Middle in Florida.
Blevins constructed a working coalition of engineering groups throughout the company that beforehand didn’t exist. His potential to forge sturdy relationships on the varied groups throughout the company allowed for the profitable launch of Artemis I. He continues to guide the engineering workforce behind SLS as they put together for Artemis II, the second flight of SLS and the primary crewed lunar mission of the twenty first century.
“It is a reflection on the laborious work and dedication of your entire Artemis Crew,” Blevins stated. “I’m working with an extremely competent, devoted workforce agencywide that goes above and past to advertise the house exploration objectives of our nation. I’m honored to simply accept the award on their behalf.”