List of Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Memorial Award winners

The Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Memorial Award was established in 1960 to honor Nelson P. Jackson, a founder and first president of the National Space Club. This award is the club's second most prestigious honor and it recognizes outstanding contributions to advancements in the missile, aircraft, and space fields.

Described by NASA as “the space world's equivalent of an Academy Award" it is presented annually by the National Space Club during the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner in Washington, D.C.

Nelson P. Jackson was a highly decorated Air Force colonel, involved in the military atomic energy program, and had served with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was also a prominent D.C. attorney and the D.C. manager for GE's Atomic Energy Division.

The National Space Club is the premier non-profit organization dedicated to advancing space leadership, technology, and education in the United States. Bringing together industry leaders, government officials, educators, and private individuals, the club fosters collaboration in astronautics and ensures that critical space-related information is shared with the public.

List of Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Memorial Award winners

Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Memorial Winners

Year

Company/Organization

Image

Achievement

Notes

1960

Bell Aerospace Company, Douglas Aircraft Company, General Electric
Discoverer-1.jpg

For development of the Discoverer Satellite

1961

Rocketdyne, Bell Aerosystems, Douglas Aircraft, GE, and Lockheed Corp.
TIROS VI satellite

Discoverer 13, developed the first recovery of a vehicle from space (August 11, 1960).

1962

RCA - Astro-Electronics Division
TIROS VI satellite

Designed and constructed the Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS).

1963

AT&T
TIROS VI satellite

Developed the Telstar communications satellite.

1964

McDonnell Aircraft and General Dynamics
TIROS VI satellite

Developed the Project Mercury capsule (McDonnell) and Atlas booster rocket (General Dynamics).

1965

Pratt & Whitney
XLR-115_hydrogen_fueled_rocket_engine_developed_by_Pratt_and_Whitney_Aircraft_(8747642790).jpg

Demonstrated the technical feasibility of liquid hydrogen as the next high-energy fuel for space exploration.

1966

NASA, U.S. Air Force, Aerojet, GE, IBM, Westinghouse
Project_Gemini_Comes_to_Life_(LROC404_-_gemini6launch).png

Recognized all teams responsible for the five successful crewed flights in Project Gemini.

1967

Boeing
NASM-2006-19886.jpg

Developed the Lunar Orbiter program.

1968

Hughes Aircraft
Surveyor_NASA_lunar_lander.jpg

Developed the Surveyor spacecraft that soft-landed on the Moon.

1969

Rocketdyne, North American Rockwell
Apollo_Lunar_Module_Ascent_Engine.jpg

Developed the Lunar Module ascent engine.

1970

The Grumman Corporation

1971

NOAA Space Technology Team
Noaa-logo-rgb-2022.svg

For Advancement in space research goals.

1972

Boeing
Lunar_Roving_Vehicle_-_GPN-2000-001122.jpg

Designed the Lunar Rover.

1973

General Electric

1974

NASA Ames-TRW Systems Pioneer 10 Team
An_artist's_impression_of_a_Pioneer_spacecraft_on_its_way_to_interstellar_space.jpg

NASA Pioneer 10 space probe that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter

1975

NASA-Fairchild Industries and the ATS-6 Team
Ats-6.jpg

For the ATS-6, the world's first educational satellite

1976

The Delta Launch Vehicle Team of NASA and McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company
Goddard_delta.JPG

For developing the Delta Launch Vehicle rocket-powered expendable launch systems

1977

Denver Division of Martin Marietta Aerospace
Viking_Orbiter_releasing_the_lander.jpg

For its superb technical achievement in successfully operating two spacecraft on the planet Mars with the Viking Program.

1978

TRW
HEAO-1_High_Energy_Astronomy_Observatory_0102089.jpg

Work on the High Energy Astronomy Observatory.

1979

Hughes Aircraft
Pioneer_Venus_orbiter.jpg

Pioneer Venus project mission.

1980

The JPL/Industry Team

1981

The NASA/Industry Centaur Team: Convair Division of General Dynamics Corp.; Honeywell, Inc.; NASA/Lewis Research Center; Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Group, United Technologies Corporation; Teledyne Systems Company
Centaur_upper_stage_being_lifted.jpg

For the development of the Centaur rocket stage.

1982

The Industrial Team led by Rockwell International Corporation under NASA leadership

1983

McDonnell Douglas
PAM-D_rocket_stage.jpg

Developed the Payload Assist Module (PAM).

1984

Ball Corp.
IRAS_in_JPL_simulator.jpg

Built the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS).

1985

Martin Marietta Aerospace

1986

The JSC-Hughes Corp. LEASAT Salvage Team
STS-51-A_Syncom_IV-1_deployment.jpg

for first satellites to be designed for launch from the Space Shuttle payload bay

1987

JPL and the Voyager Industry Project Team
Voyager_spacecraft.jpg

Contributions to the Voyager Project.

1988

NASA
HEAO-3_observatory_artist's_view_0102165.jpg

For the High Energy Astronomy Observatory Program HEAO

1989

Delta 181 Mission Team, McDonnell Douglas
Thrust_vectoring_nozzle_test.gif

For the Delta 181 Mission, Thrust Vector Experiment

1990

NASA/JPL Government-Industry Voyager Telemetry Array Team
Voyager_spacecraft_model.png

For the Voyager Telemetry Array, the system of antennas and equipment used on Earth to receive and process telemetry data from the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft

1991

NASA and the Goddard Space Flight Center
HST-SM4.jpeg

For the Hubble Space Telescope

1992

NASA/TRW team
CGRO_s37-96-010.jpg

For the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

1993

NASA
1990_s31_IMAX_view_of_HST_release.jpg

Hubble Telescope Repair Mission.

1994

1995

The Clementine team, Naval Research Lab.
Clementine_lunar.jpg

For the Clementine spacecraft design, that was used to build the most comprehensive, multispectral geologic lunar map to date."

1996

US Air Force and Lockheed Martin
Milstar.jpg

For designing, building, and launching the Milstar satellite communication system

1997

1998

1999

2000

NASA and JPL
Artwork_Galileo-Io-Jupiter.JPG

For the Galileo spacecraft

2001

TRW Systems Group with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Chandra_artist_illustration.jpg

For the Chandra X-ray Observatory

2002

The Aqua Science Team and NASA
Aqua_spacecraft_model.png

For the Aqua satellite

2003

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman Corporation
Aqua_satellite_simulation.jpg

For the orbit success of NASA's Aqua Earth Observing System (EOS), Aqua satellite

2004

Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman
TDRS_Satellite.tif

For work on the TDRSS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System and the Space Network.

2005

2006

The Cassini-Huygens probe team
Cassini_Saturn_Orbit_Insertion.jpg

For The Cassini-Huygens probe, a space probe sent to study the planet Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites.

2007

Lockheed Martin and the University of Washington
Stardust_-_Concepcao_artistica.jpg

For the Stardust spacecraft and the identification of possible interstellar dust particles from the capsule's return to Earth in 2006

2008

2009

The MESSENGER team
MESSENGER_-_spacecraft_at_mercury_-_atmercury_lg.jpg

For developing the NASA robotic space probe MESSENGER that orbited the planet Mercury

2010

Boeing
MC-2941_Wideband_Global_SATCOM_Satellite.png

For fielding the first three Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft

2011

Boeing
X-37_spacecraft,_artist's_rendition.jpeg

For the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Program

2012

JPL, Mars Curiosity Mission Team
Curiosity_Self-Portrait_at_'Big_Sky'_Drilling_Site.jpg

For the Mars Curiosity rover

2013

The Mars Science Laboratory Team
MSL_cruise_stage_configuration_(PIA14831).png

Recognized for its significance in successfully landing on and exploring the Martian surface.

2014

Boeing's X-51A WaveRider Team
X-51A_Waverider.jpg

For the uncrewed X-51A WaveRider autonomous flight demonstrator that is "leading the way to hypersonic flight."

2015

The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) team with MIT Lincoln Laboratory
LADEE's_LLCD_optical_module_rendering.jpg

For the Lunar Laser Communication System

2016

Dawn project team and NASA
Dawn_spacecraft_model.png

For the Dawn spacecraft, the first mission to orbit two extraterrestrial targets and the first to encounter a dwarf planet.

2017

Juno Mission Team, Lockheed Martin
Juno_Transparent.png

For the Juno spacecraft mission

2018

U.S. Military and Industry Team
OBV_GBI_1.jpg

For the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System

2019

Delta II Rocket Team
Lancement_Spirit_fusee_Delta_IIs_10062003.jpg

For 29 years of the success with the Delta II rocket program

2020

The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration Team
TIROS VI satellite

For significantly contributing to our knowledge base with the first picture of a Black Hole with Event Horizon Telescope

2021

Parker Solar Probe Team
Parker_Solar_Probe_spacecraft_model.png

Efforts to untangle the long-standing mysteries of the complex solar environment with the Parker Solar Probe.

2022

The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies Team
2020VV_risk_corridor.png

For the Sentry-II, asteroid monitoring system

2023

Johns Hopkins, Applied Physics Laboratory APL
Dart-poster3.jpg

Double Asteroid Redirection Test DART mission.

2024

Artemis I Team
Artemis_I_Launch_(NHQ202211160017).jpg

Recognized for the historic Artemis I launch.

2025

SpaceX
Starship_Booster_Return_on_Final_Approach_(54063904149)_(cropped).jpg

For achieving the first-ever “catch” of a returning space booster with the SpaceX Super Heavy.

See Also

Zener Prize

The Zener Prize is an international award bestowed in recognition of scientific advances within the...

C.E.K. Mees Medal

The C.E.K. Mees Medal recognizes individuals that exemplify that "optics transcends all...