The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronaut, pilot, mission specialist, payload specialist, or other space flight participant in a space flight mission."
In practice, the medal is bestowed upon any
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
(US or foreign) who flies aboard a United States
space mission
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in or ...
, and typically every subsequent flight is honored with an additional award.
Multiple awards of the decoration are annotated either by
award stars
A inch star (9.7mm) is a miniature gold or silver five-pointed star that is authorized by the United States Armed Forces as a ribbon device to denote subsequent awards for specific decorations of the Department of the Navy, Coast Guard, Public Hea ...
or
oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...
s (depending on the civilian or military status of the recipient and, if military, the
branch of service
Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state.
Types of branches
Unified armed forces
The Canadian Armed Forces is the unifi ...
). The NASA Space Flight Medal is also authorized for wear on active uniforms of the
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
and is worn after all military decorations.
For those who perform an act of gallantry or heroic action while engaged in a U.S. space mission, NASA also presents an award known as the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor
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 or her duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and con ...
. This is separate award from the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
which is a U.S. military decoration for extreme bravery.
See also
*
List of NASA awards
Awards and decorations of the United States government are civilian awards of the U.S. federal government which are typically issued for sustained meritorious service, in a civilian capacity, while serving in the U.S. federal government. Certain ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasa Space Flight Medal
Space Flight Medal