HUNTSVILLE – ERC’s Red Crew based in Huntsville, received the prestigious Stellar Award from the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation, for its mission-saving work on the Artemis I launch last fall.
The Stellar Awards, presented at the 35th annual Space Awards Gala in Houston, celebrate the accomplishments of those working behind the scenes of the space program.
NASA’s Red Crew is specially trained to conduct operations at the launch pad during cryogenic loading operations.
256 Today reported on the feats of ERC’s Red Crew in January.
Billy Cairns, Trenton Annis, and Chad Garrett were recognized for stepping in to stop the leak on the hydrogen valve during the Artemis I launch preparation Nov. 16.
The crew climbed the launch tower and entered the zero deck of the mobile launcher to tighten several bolts on a leaky hydrogen valve used to replenish the core stage – a valve on a rocket full of explosive propellants.
But it was all in a day’s work for the Red Crew. Without their efforts, the Artemis I launch would have once again been scrubbed.
“I could not be prouder of this team,” said Jane Reutt, president of ERC’s NASA division. “The recognition was well deserved.”
