Stennis Space Center recognizes locals with Silver Snoopy awards
Stennis Space Center recently recognized four local residents for their support of the NASA mission.
Rebecca Mataya, a native of Picayune, Mississippi, and resident of Carriere, Mississippi, received NASA’s prestigious Space Flight Awareness (SFA) Silver Snoopy award March 29 during an on-site ceremony held at NASA Stennis Space Center near Bay St Louis, Mississippi.
Mataya is a Construction of Facilities project assistant for facilities and operations contractor Syncom Space Services at Stennis. She was honored for her support of Stennis Construction of Facilities efforts to strengthen and champion projects so that the center mission succeeds and is accomplished safely.
Mark Jarrell of Picayune, Mississippi, has received NASA’s prestigious Space Flight Awareness (SFA) Silver Snoopy award.
Jarrell is a test technician with Aerojet Rocketdyne at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Although unable to attend an on-site awards ceremony March 29, he was honored for his indispensable contributions to NASA’s Space Launch System and Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RS-25 engine programs. His engine assembly, disassembly, modification, and propulsion testing efforts played a key role in Aerojet Rocketdyne’s ability to meet NASA’s quality, cost, and schedule requirements.
Joshua McBeth of Picayune, Mississippi, received NASA’s prestigious Space Flight Awareness (SFA) Silver Snoopy award March 29 during an on-site ceremony held at NASA Stennis Space Center near Bay St Louis, Mississippi.
McBeth is a metrology technician with Aluttiq Essential Services at Stennis. He was honored for his dedication to duty, selfless service, and commitment to excellence in support of multiple NASA and Stennis test operation projects while serving as a laboratory technician and metrology technician in the Stennis Measurement Standards and Calibration Laboratory. McBeth’s efforts directly supported the recent Space Launch System core stage test series, and he continues to support and positively impact other Stennis test operations.
Ernest “Ernie” Ford, a native of Purvis, Mississippi, and resident of Picayune, Mississippi, received NASA’s prestigious Space Flight Awareness (SFA) Silver Snoopy award March 29 during an on-site ceremony held at NASA Stennis Space Center near Bay St Louis, Mississippi.
Ford is a senior manufacturing engineer with Aerojet Rocketdyne at Stennis. He was honored for his long-term service to NASA human spaceflight programs at Stennis and his work as the RS-25 engine adaptation lead for the Space Launch System propulsion system. Ford’s engineering leadership, dedication, attention to detail, and processing expertise in updating heritage space shuttle main engine to the RS-25 configuration greatly contributed to success of the project.
Astronaut Shannon Walker, a native of Houston, presented the awards. All recipients received a Silver Snoopy lapel pin flown aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 cargo flight to the International Space Station in July-August 2016.
Prior to becoming an astronaut, Walker worked for Rockwell Space Operations Company at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston as a robotics flight controller for the Space Shuttle Program. She also served as flight controller for several space shuttle missions and later joined NASA to work on the International Space Station Program. She was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 2004 and is a veteran of two spaceflights.
Walker served as flight engineer for the Expedition 24/25 mission to the International Space Station in 2010. She also served as pilot for the Soyuz flights that launched her to and from the space station for the mission. In addition, Walker served as a mission specialist on the SpaceX Crew-1 flight on Nov. 15, 2020, the first post-certification mission of the SpaceX Crew Drago spacecraft. The Crew-1 flight launched Walker to the International Space Station, where she served as flight engineer for the Expedition 64 mission before returning to Earth on the Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 2, 2021. Altogether, Walker has flown 331 days in space.
NASA’s SFA Program recognizes outstanding job performances and contributions by civil service and contract employees throughout the year and focuses on excellence in quality and safety in support of human spaceflight. The SFA Silver Snoopy Award is the astronauts’ personal award and is presented to less than 1 percent of the total NASA workforce annually. The award is presented by a member of the astronaut corps representing its core principles for outstanding flight safety and mission success.
For information about Silver Snoopy and other Space Flight Awareness awards, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/sfa/
