Congressional Space Medal of Honor

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Congressional Space Medal of Honor
Congressional Space Medal of Honor
TypeMedal
CountryUnited States
EligibilityNASA astronauts
StatusActive
EstablishedSeptember 29, 1969
Congressional Space Medal of Honor ribbon
Precedence
Next (lower)NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Neil Armstrong being awarded the first medal by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, with subsequent recipients Borman and Conrad seated.

The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized by the United States Congress in 1969 to recognize "any astronaut who in the performance of his duties has distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and mankind." The highest award given by NASA, it is awarded by the President of the United States in Congress's name on recommendations from the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The award is a separate decoration from the Medal of Honor, which is a military award for extreme bravery and gallantry in combat.

Although the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is a civilian award of the United States government, it is authorized as a military decoration for display on U.S. military uniforms due to the prestige of the decoration. In such cases, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is worn as a ribbon following all United States Armed Forces decorations.

To be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, an astronaut must perform feats of extraordinary accomplishment while participating in space flight under the authority of NASA. Typically, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is awarded for scientific discoveries or actions of tremendous benefit to mankind. The decoration may also be awarded for extreme bravery during a space emergency or in preventing a major space disaster. The Congressional Space Medal of Honor may also be presented posthumously to those astronauts who die while performing a US space mission; and as of 2004, all 17 astronauts killed on US missions have been awarded the medal.

Recipients

As of 2014, 28 astronauts have been honored with the award. Seventeen were honored posthumously: 14 died in either the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster or the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and the other three died in the Apollo 1 fire. An asterisk indicates a posthumous award.

Photo Name Date Awarded by Notes Ref(s)
Neil Armstrong Neil Armstrong October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Apollo 11 (Commander of the first lunar landing, first man to walk on the Moon) [1]
Frank Borman Frank Borman October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Apollo 8 (Commander of the first lunar orbit) [1]
Pete Conrad Pete Conrad October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Skylab 2 (first Skylab Commander; responsible for salvaging the critically malfunctioning station) [1]
John Glenn John Glenn October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Mercury-Atlas 6 (first American in orbit) [1]
Gus Grissom Gus Grissom* October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Apollo 1, Gemini 3 and Mercury-Redstone 4 (Commander of the first manned Gemini); died aboard Apollo 1 [1]
Alan Shepard Alan Shepard October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Mercury-Redstone 3 (first American in space) [1]
John Young John Young May 19, 1981 Ronald Reagan STS-1 (Commander of the first shuttle flight) [1]
Thomas Stafford Thomas P. Stafford January 19, 1993 George H. W. Bush Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (U.S. Commander) [1]
James Lovell Jim Lovell July 26, 1995 Bill Clinton Apollo 13 (Commander of the ill-fated mission) [1]
Shannon Lucid Shannon Lucid December 2, 1996 Bill Clinton Longest female spaceflight (passed by Sunita Williams) [1]
Roger Chaffee Roger Chaffee* December 17, 1997 Bill Clinton Died aboard Apollo 1 [1]
Edward White Edward White* December 17, 1997 Bill Clinton Apollo 1 and Gemini 4 (first U.S. space walk); died aboard Apollo 1 [1]
William Shepherd William Shepherd January 15, 2003 George W. Bush Expedition 1 (first ISS Commander) [1]
Rick Husband Rick Husband* February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1]
Willie McCool Willie McCool* February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1]
Michael Anderson Michael P. Anderson* February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1]
Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla* February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1]
David Brown David M. Brown* February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1]
Laurel Clark Laurel B. Clark* February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1]
Ilan Ramon Ilan Ramon* February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia, only non-U.S. citizen recipient) [1]
Dick Schobee Dick Scobee* July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1]
Michael Smith Michael J. Smith* July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1]
Judith Resnik Judith Resnik* July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1]
Ronald McNair Ronald McNair* July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1]
Ellison Onizuka Ellison Onizuka* July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1]
Greg Jarvis Gregory Jarvis* July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1]
Christa McAuliffe Christa McAuliffe* July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger, teacher) [1]
Robert Crippen Robert Crippen April 26, 2006 George W. Bush STS-1 (first shuttle flight, Pilot) [1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Congressional Space Medal of Honor". NASA. April 28, 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-05.

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