Tom Duxbury accepting the 2007 Stellar Award from astronaut James Reilly, II.

2007 Stellar Award Winner

Each year the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) Foundation solicits nominations from NASA, the military and industry leaders in human and unmanned spaceflight programs for individual and team achievements to be recognized with Stellar Awards. Nominees are evaluated based on which accomplishments hold the greatest promise for furthering future activities in space, and the winners in each of four categories are announced at the banquet.

The 2007 Stellar Evaluators were former National Space Trophy winners Dr. Aaron Cohen, Dr. Chris Kraft, Jr., and Dr. Glynn Lunney. The 2007 Stellar Awards were presented by Astronauts James Reilly, II and Joan Higginbotham.

Six Stellar Awards were presented in the Team category in 2007.

Stardust Flight and Recovery Team of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Exceptional achievement during its historic seven-year planetary space flight to bring to Earth samples of primordial material from a cometary nucleus, unchanged since the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago, enabling study of the origin and evolution of our solar system and life on Earth. The award was accepted by Thomas C. Duxbury on behalf of the team.

Closeup of the 2007 Stellar Award