Horn and Scheuermann Receive Space Flight Awareness Awards

Bill Horn and Kurt Scheuermann, both of Aerospace Systems, were recent recipients of the NASA Space Flight Awareness Award, which is given for an individual’s significant contributions to the space program.

Each honoree received a certificate, pin, and shuttle model.  Scheuermann attended the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 11 at Kennedy Space Center and was given a tour of the facilities.  He also attended a special ceremony at KSC for the honorees.  Horn was unable to attend.

Horn, an 18-year employee of TBE, was presented the award for his dedicated support and leadership of the MSFC Materials Science Programs.  As a systems engineer, he has performed electrical and command data systems support on the development of the Materials Science Research Rack (MSRR) for the last 5 years.  Serving as the on-site expert for EXPRESS and Solid State Power Control Module (SSPCM) functionals, Horn was the technical lead for EMI testing of the MSRR rack, provided technical expertise during problem resolution of the EXPRESS Rack SSPCM, and developed the MSRR-1 Interface Definition Document.  As a member of the Verification Concurrence Team, he has evaluated over 185 MSRR Electrical and Command/Data verification closeouts – an essential step prior to the Integrated Rack being shipped to KSC for launch.  He also served as the lead for developing the technical working agreements between MSFC and the European Space Agency for the development of MSRR-1.

As the Ground System Integration lead, Scheuermann was cited as receiving the award for his outstanding leadership and display of exception technical expertise in directing the success of the ground systems transitions in support of International Space Station on-orbit payload operations, including the European and Japanese partner interfaces.  He was commended for his attention to detail and expert knowledge of the onboard and ground systems that helped ensure that more than 25 transitions required to support several flights were completed successfully.  Scheuermann’s exceptional people skills were noted in working through issues with various teams – both internal and external to Payload Operations Integration – and he is recognized throughout the cadre as well as in the International Partner Community for his excellent work.

The Space Flight Awareness Award is the highest tribute paid by NASA to individuals in NASA, DoD, and industry for their dedication to quality work and flight safety.