Space Act Awards Net Cash for USA Innovators

Innovation is alive and well throughout USA, where employees received a total of $107,950 for submitting new technologies to NASA. In the last year alone, USA innovators received over $14,000 through NASA’s Space Act Awards.

USA’s participation in the Space Act Awards is coordinated through the Technology Integration Forum, chaired by Rick Davignon, USA Engineering Process Owner. The group includes the Shuttle chief engineer and all element USA Technology managers and representatives from Business Development, International Space Station, Information Management, Lean Six Sigma, Constellation Program Office, General Counsel and Technology Protection.

“USA’s strong showing in these awards demonstrates once again how we are continuing to develop and adapt Shuttle technology in innovative ways,” said Davignon.

The Space Act Awards are presented in several categories and range from $350 to $100,000.

• Tech Brief Awards are for contributors whose innovations have been reported in NASA Tech Briefs magazine ($350 per author).
• Patent Application Awards are for contributors whose inventions have received approval for patent application by NASA ($1,000 for single innovator and $500 each for multiple innovators).
• Software Release Awards are for contributors whose software has been approved for public release by NASA ($1,000 for single innovator and $500 each for multiple innovators).
• Board Action Awards (NASA Invention and Contributions Board) are for scientific or technical contributions that are determined to have significant value for aeronautical and space activities. These awards can be hardware or software and can amount to up to $100,000.

“The ideas that people bring forward and develop into new technologies will help secure our future,” said Joe Hammond, USA’s Vice President of Business Development. “One such idea, the SIMS, has solved a critical need to access Shuttle closeout photos and has also now been integrated into the USA Questus ™ toolset.” Questus is USA’s suite of computer software products that represents the first-ever set of integrated applications and tools specifically created for space operations.

USA’s largest cash award winners were Joseph L. Chaco, who received $2,000 for the Low Voltage Wire Size Calculator and Synchronization of Substations with Crossed Feeders innovations, and Henry Morris, who received $1,600 for the Tape Rewind Tool and $1,100 for the Blast Wrap Machine. Domenico Ruggiero received $1,000 for the Shuttle Engineering Disposition System.

Oliver Campbell received $800 for the Fairchild Hypergolic Airhalf Quick Disconnect Refurbishment Toolset.

Each of the individuals below received $500 for their innovative accomplishments.

SIMS Closeout Photo Process –
Peter Kent, Russell Brucker, Daryl Lampert, Todd Hoffman and Terry Broadwell
Blast Wrap Machine –
Wilber Geiger
Heater Band Tensioning Tool –
Bryan Hall and Steven DeFillips
Shuttle Image Management System (SIMS) Graphical Drilldown Search and Retrieval Tool –
Dennis Dougherty, Tina Robertson, Stephen Spath, Peter Kent, Russell Brucker and Michael Raney

Each of the individuals below received $350 for their technological achievements.

USA Quality System Database –
William H. Snell, Anne M. Turner, Luther Gifford and William Stites
Space Shuttle General Purpose Computer Emulator Platform –
Scott Arnold, Bill Askew, Matthew Barry, David Brummel, Agnes Leigh, Scott Mermelstein, James Owens, Dan Payne, Jim Pemble, John Solliger, Hiram Thompson, James Thompson, Patrick Walter, Steve Weismuller, Ron Aadsen, Keith Hurley and Chris Ruhl
Supply Chain Optimization Template –
William Quiett and Scott Sealing
Core Cutoff Tool –
Darrell L Gheen
Hydraulic Oil Deaerator System –
Christopher Anderson
Joint Execute Package Development and Integration Web Utility –
Jason Hadlock
Station Compact Radiator Analysis Model (SCRAM Lite) –
John G. Torian and Michael L. Rischar
WeaveEncke Orbit Predictor –
Daniel R. Adamo
Next Generation Flight Controller Trainer System –
Ron Aadsen, Scott Arnold, Isaac Benton, Michael Bishop, Steven Evans, Jason Harvey, Timothy King, Jacob Martin, Al Mercier, Walt Miller, Dan Payne, Hanh Phu and James Thompson
Automated Storyboard Authoring Program –
Jeffrey M. Montgomery, David Chiquelin, Pam Peters and Mary Baxter

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