Jump to content

Astronauts medal display


4STARCHRIS
 Share

Recommended Posts

i will ask my old NASA buddies about this and see what they say.

This make pretty good sense though.

4starchris

 

 

Here are a couple of things from the internet that might help explain this...

 

Arminta Harness

Lt. Col. Arminta Harness blazed a trail for women engineers in the Armed Forces during her 24 year career in the U.S. Air Force. Graduating with an aeronautical engineering degree from the University of Southern California in 1955, she became the Air Force's first woman engineer, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Her assignments varied in responsibility from designing intelligence-gathering equipment for the U-2 aircraft to providing management direction for the $2 billion Space and Missile Systems Organization budget.

 

As a lieutenant assigned to the Aerial Reconnaissance Laboratory at Wright Paterson Air Force Base, she was the first woman on orders as a test engineer during flight testing of experimental equipment, which she designed. In 1963 Harness was assigned to work on the Gemini manned space program at Air Force Space Systems. As a Major, she served as Deputy Chief of Engineering, and later, as Lieutenant Colonel, as Chief of Program Control for the $80 million Gemini Target Vehicle Program the unmanned spacecraft used as a docking target by the Gemini astronauts in space. It was during this assignment that she became the first woman to receive the specialty rating of Staff Development Engineer and the first woman to receive both Senior and Master Missileman Badges.

 

 

 

In August 1963 General [John B.] Hudson returned to the ballistic missile and space program in Los Angeles, where he became assistant deputy for engineering and later deputy for launch vehicles, Space Systems Division. He was awarded his third Legion of Merit and earned his Master Missileman Badge for directing the launch vehicle activities of the Air Force space program. In this assignment he was responsible for developing launch vehicles and space vehicles used by the Air Force and NASA, such as the Scout, Thor, Atlas, Titan II Gemini launch vehicle, Agena, and the Gemini Agena used to rendezvous, dock and maneuver by Gemini astronauts.

 

Interestingly enough, I don't find any mention on the internet of Tom Stafford or Jim McDivitt being awarded the Missileman Badge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also looks like McDivitt has an Oak Leaf Cluster on his NASA DSM. His bio on internet says NASA DSM with Oak Leaf Cluster.

I assume his award came before the NASA instituted their "additional awards" device.

 

Tom Stafford's picture shows both the NASA DSM and NASA ESM with the NASA additional awards device.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also looks like McDivitt has an Oak Leaf Cluster on his NASA DSM. His bio on internet says NASA DSM with Oak Leaf Cluster.

I assume his award came before the NASA instituted their "additional awards" device.

 

Tom Stafford's picture shows both the NASA DSM and NASA ESM with the NASA additional awards device.

 

It maybe that he could not find an official NASA additional award device. I have yet to see one anywhere. I wonder who sold them and how many the contract was for?

4starchris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, you are going to love this. It is called the NASA additional awards device.

 

The MIL spec for this thing identifies it as "Ribbon Attachment, Additional Awards, National Aeronautics and Space Administration".

 

The MIL spec for the Oak Leaf Cluster identifies it as "Ribbon Attachment, Oak Leaf Cluster".

 

Here is the MIL spec for the NASA additional awards device. As you can tell, the device is a representation of the NASA symbol, the

sphere with the stylized swoop.

 

ribbon_attachment.pdf

 

 

I stumbled across this description in the "Permanent Marine Corps Uniform Board", Marine Corps Uniform Regulations, under the topic "Miscellaneous Devices".

 

3. Planet Symbol. A ball-shaped object symbolizing a planet, with wing configuration is authorized for the suspension ribbon of the medal and ribbon bar of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal to denote each subsequent award earned.

 

The Marines call it a "Planet Symbol". I like that better than "Additional Awards".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great info. Did you find this officially somewhere?

If so can yo tell us or post it. Just for the "Offical" types. :)

I like to thank everybody who has posted on the tread.

4starchris

 

It used to be in the AF Regulations (1980's). I don't recall the number, each badge had its own reg. Not sure how it would translate into the current Af Instruction system.

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Back of the Distinguished Service Medal:

 

 

Hah....I thought I was the only picture whore! :w00t: Never thought I would see the day when someone would post photos of something that ended up in my collection, cool! :D I only got the DSM, don’t know what happed to the other one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, this is great. Thanks for posting this information I will put it with his DSM! :w00t:

 

 

post-387-1294021324.jpg

 

Here he is wearing the Nasa DSM rosette on his jacket.

 

Robert B. Sieck is director of Shuttle Processing, John F. Kennedy Space Center, effective January 22, 1995. In this capacity, he is responsible for the management of all space shuttle processing and launch activities at the Kennedy Space Center.

 

Sieck was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in September 1938. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Virginia in 1960. He obtained additional postgraduate credits in mathematics, physics, meteorology, and management at both Texas A&M and the Florida Institute of Technology. He served three years in the U.S. Air Force, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. While in the Air Force, he worked as a meteorologist and was involved in the activation of the Titan II ICBM weapon system in Tucson, Arizona.

 

Sieck joined NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in 1964 as a Gemini Spacecraft Systems engineer. He served as an Apollo Spacecraft test team project engineer, Shuttle Orbiter test team project engineer, and in 1976 was named the Engineering Manager for the Shuttle Approach and Landing tests at Dryden Flight Research Facility in California. Returning to KSC in 1978, he became the Chief Shuttle Project Engineer for STS-1 through STS-7. He became the first KSC Shuttle Flow Director in 1983, and in February 1984 was appointed Director, Launch and Landing Operations, where he served as Shuttle Launch Director for eleven missions.

 

Sieck served as Deputy Director of Shuttle Operations (renamed Shuttle Processing in 1996) from April 1992 until January 1995. He was responsible for assisting with the management and technical direction of the Shuttle program at KSC. He also retained his position as Shuttle Launch Director, a responsibility he had held from February 1984 through August 1985, and then from December 1986 to January 1995. He was Launch Director for STS-26R and all subsequent Shuttle missions through STS-63. Sieck served as Launch Director for 52 Space Shuttle launches.

 

Sieck and his wife Nancy live in Titusville and have two adult children.

 

Awards:

NASA:

Exceptional Service Award - 1971 and 1981

Distinguished Service Medal - 1988

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is my basic set of NASA medals I put together several years ago. When the two newest ones came out I added them in. I don’t have the doe or know the right people to own a real CSMOH so I carved one out of balsa wood and painted it then used colored ink pins to make the fake ribbon. Looks pretty good till you get close and I still need to add three of the description plates to finish it off again.

 

 

I was one of those kids that wanted to be an astronaut. I can just remember watching some of the launches in grade school, the Skylab missions. The teacher would drag the TV in on the giant cart and the class would watch it. I remember that and watching President Ford fall down the stairs when exiting Air Force One. Funny what sticks in your mind as a kid! It stuck with me so much so that I bought a full pressure suit that fit me. My profile picture is of me wearing my Goodrich A/P 22S-3 suit. Basically the same thing the Mercury guys used. I used to get it out once a year and wear it for Halloween.

post-15093-1299968113.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a great display. I would love to see a close up of the cool CSMOH you have.

Thanks for posting.

4starchris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NASA CSMOH

 

You guys are really funny! You know it’s kind of hard to read sarcasm in this but my cool balsa wood CSMOH, really!? :blink: Ok you asked for it. But remember when you don’t have it you just have to make due with what you do have. And I was younger and inexperienced! :w00t:

 

Like I said I put it together years ago back when the only photo of a CSMOH you could find was in “The NASA SPACE MEDALS” by Evans E Kerrigan. Now-a-days I would print out a color photo and mount it on foam board for depth, which works really well. But as I said I carved it out of balsa wood and painted it. The ribbon was simply drawn on with colored markers and has actually faded a bit over the years.

 

Now that I look at it up close again I think I am going to have to fix this. Maybe add the photo on foam board. Ugh! :pinch:

post-15093-1300037474.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Better shot of the set!

 

Here is a better shot of the whole set. It’s kind of hard to get a good picture of it. The description plates were made by a local trophy shop. I had them engrave it on gold plate then mount that on black plate for a nice contrast background. They were about $10 each :blink: so they are not cheap but they come out very nice and make a big difference on your display!

 

When the Exceptional Administrative Achievement Medal and the Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal came out, what year was that (?), I had to revamp the frame to make room for them. I still need to have the description plate for them and the CSMOH made to finish it off again. :crying:

 

The medals are all 1980’s Space Shuttle vintage manufacture from Lordship and Grayco if memory serves me correctly. Back then they were expensive and I did not have my dealer’s license so I paid full retail from other dealers and got no break on the cost. When I started dealing myself in 1992 I realized how big the mark up is on the medals and almost had a heart attack. And those ribbon devices for multiple awards that were talked about here. I still kick myself in the butt for not buying those but they came in boxes of 100 and weren’t cheap enough for me even then. What a dumb a**! :crybaby: They don’t make them that often as the demand is low so it would probably be near impossible to get them now even if I was still dealing? I only saw them offered once in the Lordship listing during the 10 years I bought from them.

post-15093-1300037931.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You showed some real talent with that. Ok, I guess closeup, it doesn't look exactly like the real thing, but it looks great. Really nice detail. Outstanding work!

Whatever you do....if you also carved a standard MOH, DON'T post a photo of that! (You'll have a bunch of black SUV's pulling into your driveway!)

Kurt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Space Shuttle

 

Ok, I know this is a bit off the subject but I figured a few of you guys may appreciate this. This is a 6 foot Space Shuttle toy box I built for my son a few years back. It is completely custom hand made of wood and fiberglass. Of course I painted it and made custom sticker for it. It only took me about a year of spare time to build, while also painting a playroom for him with a giant earth and all the colorful planets of the solar system of course. You can’t have a Space Shuttle toy box without the proper back ground! It is complete with a compartment for him to play in and the cockpit opens for GI Joe, still have to build that section for his later years. The storage section was inspired by an old role-top-desk we have. It opens down so no one accidentally gets closed in while playing!

post-15093-1300043532.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Space Shuttle 2

 

 

Space Shuttle

 

Ok, I know this is a bit off the subject but I figured a few of you guys may appreciate this. This is a 6 foot Space Shuttle toy box I built for my son a few years back. It is completely custom hand made of wood and fiberglass. Of course I painted it and made custom sticker for it. It only took me about a year of spare time to build, while also painting a playroom for him with a giant earth and all the colorful planets of the solar system of course. You can’t have a Space Shuttle toy box without the proper back ground! It is complete with a compartment for him to play in and the cockpit opens for GI Joe, still have to build that section for his later years. The storage section was inspired by an old role-top-desk we have. It opens down so no one accidentally gets closed in while playing!

post-15093-1300043604.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You showed some real talent with that. Ok, I guess closeup, it doesn't look exactly like the real thing, but it looks great. Really nice detail. Outstanding work!

Whatever you do....if you also carved a standard MOH, DON'T post a photo of that! (You'll have a bunch of black SUV's pulling into your driveway!)

Kurt

 

 

Yah boy can you imagine! I was thinking how funny, NOT, it would be trying to explain that to my fellow inmates! Watch you in for buddy!? Well…… um……. :w00t:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about everyone else, but I think u did a fantastic job on the CSMOH. Especially when you consider what all u did. I for one am very impressed.

The shuttle toy box... How cool is that. Your son is lucky.

Thanks for sharing the close up.

4starchris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A close second favorite, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

 

Hope you all can help in ID'ing the awards he received! :think: Deciphering black and white ribbon bar shots is not one of my strong points, haha.

Buzz_Aldrin_black_and_white_dress_uniform_photo_portrait.jpg

 

 

I was just reading back over some of this stuff and caught your request for help on the identification of his ribbons. This is what I have figured out so far.

 

Row 1:

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal

Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 oak leaf cluster

Air Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters

 

Row 2:

Air Force Commendation Medal

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (Ribbon)

Presidential Medal of Freedom

 

Row 3:

NASA Distinguished Service Medal

NASA Exceptional Service Medal

National Defense Medal with one bronze star.

Korean Service Medal with 2 bronze stars.

 

Row 4:

Air Force Longevity Service Award with 3 oak leaf clusters (ribbon)

?

?

?

 

Row 5:

?

?

?

?

 

Row 6:

?

?

Republic of Korea Unit Citation (ribbon)

United Nations Service Medal (Korea)

 

A picture of him in uniform on "Dancing with the stars" shows 4 of these unknown ribbons as foreign mini medals but the photo is too small for me to make them out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4Th row

Air force ribbon Longevity.

Brazil- Order of Aeronautical Merit, Commander

Japan- Order of the Rising Sun

Peru- Order of the Sun

 

5th Row

Belgium- Order of Leopold

France- Legion of Honor

Iran- Order of the Lion and Sun

Thailand- Order of the White Elephant

 

6th

Yugoslavia- Order of the White Flag

Bolivia- Order of Aeronatical Merit

 

He also has a legion of merit

I HOPE THIS HELPS

4starchris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, does anyone have a good shot of the front and back of the CSMOH? I have seen one in the forum before but can not find it now. I think maybe it is time, pushing 20 years later, to improve on my balsa wood carved medal for my NASA display. :blink:

 

Thanks

 

P.S. I have some other neat NASA stuff I could post like the Skylab wives and SMEAT patch’s and some Silver Snoopy stuff if this would be a good place, though they are not medals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A close second favorite, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

 

Hope you all can help in ID'ing the awards he received! :think: Deciphering black and white ribbon bar shots is not one of my strong points, haha.

Buzz_Aldrin_black_and_white_dress_uniform_photo_portrait.jpg

 

 

So did you get my reply on the Buzz Aldrin ribbons a few days ago, I don’t see it in the forum anymore?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...