NASA Medals

[Guest Darrell]

Here are the NASA medals that I received today. The scans dont do these justice. Really nicely made even though they are modern strikes. Nicely burnished highlights on all 9. Enjoy

1. NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal

[Guest Darrell]

2. NASA Space Flight Medal

[Guest Darrell]

3. NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal

[Guest Darrell]

4. NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal

[Guest Darrell]

5. NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal

[Guest Darrell]

6. NASA Exceptional Administrative Achievement Medal

[Guest Darrell]

7. NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal

[Guest Darrell]

8. NASA Exceptional Service Medal

[Guest Darrell]

9. NASA Public Service Medal

[Guest Rick Research]

Do those folks actually have some sort of UNIFORM, like the Public Health Service?

What are these actually AWARDED for? "Exceptional Bravery," OK. "Space Flight"... huh? Wouldn't that be astronauts?

But "Equal Employment Opportunity" and (shudder) "Exceptional Administrative Achievement?"

I'm not sure I want to know what an "Exceptional Administrative Achievement" is supposed to be!!!!

[Guest Darrell]

Do those folks actually have some sort of UNIFORM, like the Public Health Service?

What are these actually AWARDED for? "Exceptional Bravery," OK.?? "Space Flight"... huh? Wouldn't that be astronauts?

But "Equal Employment Opportunity"? and (shudder) "Exceptional Administrative Achievement?"

I'm not sure I want to know what an "Exceptional Administrative Achievement" is supposed to be!!!!? ?

←

I can remember a collector of NON-US medals once said to me ... nah ... pffft I dont collect US stuff ... they get a medal for everything including tying their shoes ....

LOL ... maybe so ... but I guess if you collect you go after them all

To answer your Question(s):

1. NASA Space Flight Medal - Established in 1981, this one is presented only to crewmembers of Space Transportation System (Shuttle) flights that perform orbital missions in outer space.

*Interesting note .... Requirements are that the crew members actually fly in outer space. Thus the members of the ill fated Space Shuttle Challenger that exploded shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986 ... were NOT entitled to the medal

2. NASA Exceptional Administrative Achievement Medal - Approved on March 20, 2003 - Presented to any person in the Federal service for a significant, specific accomplishment or contribution characterized by unusual initiate or creativity that clearly demonstrates a substantial improvement in administrative support contributing to the mission of NASA, such as:

a) Exceptional Initiative in carrying out office/program support activities that resulted in improved processes and operations.

b) Development and improvement of administrative support methods and processes that resulted in substantial benefit to the office or program.

c) Notable competence and resourcefullness in accomplishing and improving office/program processes and operations.

Sooooo ... it appears they were awarded from everyone from the Space Shuttle Astronauts to the Betty that ran the local office

Edited August 24, 2005 by Darrell

[The Capstone]

Very nice medals!

My grandfather has several of these, as he worked on the Apollo program and others. I love to see these posted, though they are not necessarily "military" medals.

NASA employees and workers did not have uniforms per se, but they did have to wear badges and identification at all times. Most of the astronauts NASA used were Navy or Airforce pilots who wore uniforms, but only because they were military. Check NASA's website to find some pics of Mission Control and launch preparations. Mostly the men who worked on the spacecraft just wore jumpsuits and protective gear.

Hope this helped!

Take care,

Ryan

[Guest Darrell]

Tack one more to the list.

The Outstanding Leadership Medal.

Obverse:

Edited October 9, 2005 by Darrell

[Guest Darrell]

Reverse:

[Guest Darrell]

Just received this piece of the puzzle today. Although a modern strike, it is quite impressive and HEAVY as well.

NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

[Paul R]

Very interesting... I did not even know that NASA awarded medals. Does anyone have any pics of the NASA uniform? I did not think that these guys were considered military(unless they were actually in the military.).

Thank you for posting these medals. Do you that them all or are there some more out there?

Paul

[Guest Darrell]

Very interesting... I did not even know that NASA awarded medals. Does anyone have any pics of the NASA uniform? I did not think that these guys were considered military(unless they were actually in the military.).

Thank you for posting these medals. Do you that them all or are there some more out there?

Paul

There are still about 3 modern style medals I need (very rare Engineering awards etc.). There are earlier 1st Variation versions that run into the $100's that you see on e-bay (ex. Distinguished Service medal, Outstanding Service medal). Very sought after. Then of course the elusive Congressional Space Medal of Honor, which I doubt you will find sold very often.

[Paul R]

Thank you for showing us your collection of rare medals. How much have you seen one of these CSMH sell for? Is that a real diamond in the center?

I found that this medal has been awarded 27 times. (Congressional Space Medal of Honor):

Here are the awardees(from Wilkipedia Site)

1978 Neil Armstrong

1978 Frank Borman

1978 Charles "Pete" Conrad

1978 John Glenn

1978 Virgil "Gus" Grissom (posthumous)

1978 Alan Shepard

1981 John W. Young

1993 Thomas P. Stafford

1995 James Lovell

1996 Shannon Lucid

1997 Roger Chaffee (posthumous)

1997 Edward White (posthumous)

2003 William Shepherd

2004 Rick Husband (posthumous)

2004 Willie McCool (posthumous)

2004 Michael P. Anderson (posthumous)

2004 Kalpana Chawla (posthumous)

2004 David M. Brown (posthumous)

2004 Laurel Clark (posthumous)

2004 Ilan Ramon (posthumous)

2004 Dick Scobee (posthumous)

2004 Michael Smith (posthumous)

2004 Judith Resnik (posthumous)

2004 Ellison Onizuka (posthumous)

2004 Ronald McNair (posthumous)

2004 Greg Jarvis (posthumous)

2004 Christa McAuliffe (posthumous)

Darrell,

You have actually seen one of these for sale? Is that a real diamond in the star? What would the price tag be on a good one? (sorry for the questions)

Edited November 21, 2005 by Paul Reck

[Guest Darrell]

Thank you for showing us your collection of rare medals. How much have you seen one of these CSMH sell for? Is that a real diamond in the center?Darrell,

You have actually seen one of these for sale? Is that a real diamond in the star? What would the price tag be on a good one? (sorry for the questions)

Well .. actually no .. I havent seen one for sale ... ever .... and yes it is a real diamond in the center. That in itself would make it a major $$$$Kachinger$$$$ never mind the value of the medal itself. It also comes with a neck ribbon.

[Guest Darrell]

Well as you might imagine ... the above 10 medals were the "easy" ones to find. Even though the NASA medals have not been around for that long, other than these 10, the rest can be difficult to find.

I did just that. This one I hold a little more dear than the rest because I'm an Engineer myself

First a little background on my latest piece:

NASA EXCEPTIONAL ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL

The Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal (EEAM) was established in 1981 to recognize unusually significant engineering contributions towards achievement of aeronautical or space exploration goals.

While NASA does not officially rank the EEAM on an equal level with the ESAM (Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal), with exception of the word, "Engineering", the award criteria for both medals are identical.

As of October 31, 2000, NASA had awarded 390 Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medals, an average of about 20 per year.

Obverse:

[Guest Darrell]

Reverse:

[Guest Darrell]

Closeup of the famous US Manufacturer,

LORDSHIP

NY GI

[Ed_Haynes]

See also over at:

http://www.omsa.org/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=508

(where, OMSA member or not, contributions would be welcomed!)

[Guest Darrell]

See also over at:

http://www.omsa.org/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=508

(where, OMSA member or not, contributions would be welcomed!)

Excellent Ed ... gonna register now

[JBFloyd]

The NASA medals are part of the array of US civilian awards, but in contrast to many of the "Distinguished Papershuffling Medals" of other agencies, NASA awards are generally well earned, whether by shuttle crews or ground personnel.

I talked to one the Exceptional Engineering recipients about his contributions to the program. I understood the words, but the concept was well beyond this poor old history major!

The Space Medal of Honor was treated, oddly enough, better than the military Medals of Honor by Lordship. HLP refused to sell any out the back door in spite of numerous requests by their regular clientele.

And a warning to all: there are currently fakes of the first type NASA DSM and earlier NACA medals being pushed from West Virginia. They look good.