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2026 Award Recipients
Dr. Christopher Scolese Director, National Reconnaissance Office, will receive the Club’s preeminent award, the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the space community and decades of visionary leadership in aerospace and national security.
For nearly five decades, Dr. Scolese has shaped U.S. leadership in space across civil, military, and intelligence domains. He began his government career in 1978 as a United States Naval Officer, supporting Naval Nuclear Propulsion Programs for the U.S. Navy and the Department of Energy. Selected by Admiral Hyman Rickover to serve at Naval Reactors, he worked on the development of advanced instrumentation, instrument systems, and multi-processor systems for the Navy and the Department of Energy while assigned to Naval Sea Systems Command. Dr. Scolese served on active duty until 1983.
Following a period of service working in government and industry, Dr. Scolese joined NASA, where he was assigned to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. He went on to hold multiple senior leadership roles at NASA, including chief engineer, associate administrator, acting administrator, and director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. From guiding NASA through the retirement of the Space Shuttle and early planning for what became the Artemis Program, to overseeing milestone achievements at Goddard including the buildout of the James Webb Space Telescope, his impact on the nation’s civil space program has been profound and enduring. He currently serves as director of the NRO, having been appointed by and serving under three presidential administrations.
Since becoming director of the NRO in 2019, Dr. Scolese has led one of the most transformative eras in the agency’s history, championing a proliferated satellite architecture, accelerating intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data delivery, and strengthening national security space capabilities. Many of these contributions may never be publicly known, yet they remain vital to the nation.
Sarah Cantwell, a senior at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida, is the recipient of the Goddard Memorial Dinner’s Keynote Scholarship. Sarah exemplifies excellence in STEM, leadership, and service. She captains Trinity Prep’s cybersecurity team, leading the first all-girls team to earn Florida’s CyberPatriot Top Award two years in a row, and serves as a Red Team Intern at Lockheed Martin, where she assesses system vulnerabilities alongside top cybersecurity experts.
Sarah’s impact extends far beyond cybersecurity. She founded and leads her school’s Mock Trial Team, taking the inaugural program from last place to finalists in the Orange County 9th Circuit Competition in just one year. A four-sport varsity athlete, she is captain of the varsity volleyball team, a 2025 FHSAA All-Academic and All-State honoree, and earned Rookie of the Year in varsity lacrosse. She also co-founded the Student Investment Fund, serving as CTO and helping raise over $50,000 toward a legacy endowment.
In space-related research, Sarah has spent the last two years as a lead team member on the International Space Station (ISS) Rideshare Project, collaborating with South African schools to code sensors that track vibrational data aboard the ISS. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano.
Sarah plans to pursue a career in cybersecurity and computer engineering, with aspirations to work in aerospace defense and protect critical space infrastructure.
As the 2026 Keynote Scholarship recipient, Sarah will serve as the keynote speaker at the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner and receive a $50,000 scholarship.
Blue Ghost Mission 1 Team is the recipient of the Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Award. On March 2, 2025, Firefly Aerospace made history as the first commercial company to successfully land and operate on the Moon. Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander delivered 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon’s surface and enabled several first-of-its-kind demonstrations, including tracking GPS signals on the Moon for the first time, unlocking new ways to mitigate hazardous lunar dust, taking X-ray imagery of Earth’s magnetosphere, and robotically drilling and collecting science below the Moon’s surface. In total, Blue Ghost sent nearly 120 gigabytes of data back to Earth, significantly surpassing the mission requirements and unlocking new insights that will have a substantial impact on future human and robotic missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Dr. Heather Roman-Stork, Ocean Scientist, NOAA, is the recipient of the NOAA David Johnson Award for the development of the MUltiparameter Near real-time System for Tracking Eddies Retroactively (MUNSTER) suite and the Multiparameter Eddy Significance Index (MESI). These technically rigorous innovations elevate our oceanographic capabilities by merging complex advanced satellite observations across disciplines. Information including, inter alia, altimetry, sea surface temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll-a form unified eddy products. Dr. Roman-Stork’s work has the potential to impact operational mission areas focused on understanding nutrient transport, marine ecosystems, aquaculture, and fisheries management. MUNSTER and MESI strive to empower decision makers with actionable information.
Lt Col Amanda Salmoiraghi, Division Chief, Missile Warning, Tracking, and Defense, Space Warfighting Analysis Center, is the recipient of the General Bernard Schriever Award Officer. Lt Col Salmoiraghi has demonstrated exceptional leadership and strategic vision in advancing national security space operations. She spearheaded the development of innovative missile warning architectures, aligning them with national defense priorities and addressing critical threats. Lt Col Salmoiraghi led efforts under the Presidential Executive Order Golden Dome for America, managing complex tasks and synthesizing kill chains for key threat classes. Her analytical recommendations shaped cost-efficient architecture options, informed high-level decision-making, and influenced $47B in investments through 2040. Additionally, she advocated for advancements in satellite components and ground systems, enhancing technological capabilities. Her contributions extended to briefing Congress and defense leadership, optimizing missile warning resiliency, and driving deterrence studies for future force design. Lt Col Salmoiraghi’s leadership has profoundly impacted the trajectory of U.S. space defense strategy.
TSgt Michael Dillard, Jr., Senior Crew Chief, Missile Defense Operations Center, Joint Functional Component Command – Integrated Missile Defense (USSPACECOM), is the recipient of the General Bernard Schriever Award Enlisted. TSgt Dillard distinguished himself through exceptional technical expertise and unwavering dedication in his role at the United States Space Command, Colorado Springs, Colorado. His mastery of Missile Warning systems and Command and Control architecture proved invaluable during periods of heightened tension and critical global events, most notably during the Israel-Iran conflict. TSgt Dillard’s rapid analysis and characterization of over 100 missile events enabled successful intercepts, preventing mass casualties of Coalition Forces. He also directed the continuous sustainment of 65 critical Missile Defense assets worldwide, ensuring equipment availability and warfighter readiness. TSgt Dillard further enhanced integrated missile defense by driving interoperability improvements and strengthening multinational exercises with allied partners. His contributions directly reinforced space power's crucial role in global missile defense, making him an indispensable asset to JFCC-IMD, USSPACECOM, and solidifying U.S. space dominance.
Howard Hu, NASA Johnson Space Center, will receive the Norman L. Baker Astronautics Engineer Award for outstanding sustained technical contributions to multiple NASA Human Space Flight efforts culminating in his leadership of the Orion Program, the Agency’s next generation human exploration spacecraft for the Artemis missions to the Moon.
Mr. Hu has held several key leadership positions within the Orion program, most recently serving as deputy program manager. Previously, Mr. Hu was the manager of the Avionics, Power, and Software Office, as well as the deputy manager of the Vehicle Integration Office. Mr. Hu has been involved with the program since its inception and started as Orion’s Vehicle System Performance and Analysis lead.
Dana Weigel, Manager, International Space Station (ISS) Program, NASA Johnson Space Center, will receive the Eagle Manned Mission Award. Ms. Weigel leads the organization responsible for the development, integration, and operation of the longest standing permanent human presence in space.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Weigel has served in various leadership roles on the ISS program, including as Deputy Chief of the Flight Director Office, where she led the Extravehicular Activity Recovery Team responsible for recovering from a major spacewalk in-flight anomaly. She has also served as NASA Flight Director for STS-123 and led the NASA Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite servicing habitat study.
Ms. Weigel’s leadership style is marked by strategic vision, business savvy, meticulous technical management, and diplomacy. Her selfless service exemplifies the ingenuity, courage, and dedication that keeps the United States at the forefront of human space exploration.
Kenneth Chang, Science Reporter, The New York Times, will receive the Press Award for his clear and reliable science reporting at The New York Times, where he has covered space exploration for more than two decades. Mr. Chang’s work stands out for making complex topics such as NASA missions, the search for life beyond Earth, and advances in physics, understandable to a wide audience. With a strong background in physics, he asks thoughtful questions and explains both the excitement and the uncertainties behind scientific discoveries. Known for his fair and accurate reporting, Mr. Chang has written hundreds of articles that help readers make sense of new developments in science and space exploration. His dedication to accuracy and public understanding has made him a respected voice in science journalism.
Dr. Stefan Thonnard, Director, Non-Traditional Geospatial Intelligence System Program Office, will receive the Dr. Joseph V. Charyk Award. Dr. Thonnard critically drove the acquisition for a space-based spectral satellite, where he oversaw research studies, ensured mission partner readiness, led integration, test, launch, initialization, characterization, experimentation, and operations. He guided a large team, despite unprecedented constraints, ultimately delivering on schedule, below cost, exceeding performance, and accomplishing a 50-year goal of the National Reconnaissance Office.
Dr. Thonnard built a robust spectral community by partnering with the Intelligence Community and Department of War. His innovative portfolio-based experimentation plan secured additional funding to implement enhanced capabilities including non-earth and motion imaging. The exquisite data collected, as a result of his efforts, continues to be integrated into intelligence briefings to the President and into military actions against foreign adversaries. Dr. Thonnard’s exceptional and lasting contributions ensure the National Reconnaissance Office’s ability to support the United States military, making him most deserving of this prestigious award.
John Moore, Master Educator & Executive Director, Palmyra Cove Nature Park and the Institute for Earth Observations in Palmyra, NJ, is the recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Space Educator Award. For more than four decades, he has engaged students and advanced the precollege application of the space sciences within the environmental sciences by demonstrating how satellite imagery and space-based data can be used by students to investigate Earth systems. He has translated professional remote sensing and Earth systems practices into accessible, career-relevant learning experiences for students. Through educational initiatives with federal agencies and scientific societies, including NASA, NOAA, NSF, IEEE, the American Meteorological Society, and the GLOBE Program, Mr. Moore has taught and mentored hundreds of students and led professional development workshops for hundreds of teachers nationwide.
More recently, through the development of the CubeSat A3Sat project, Mr. Moore has expanded these efforts by engaging students in authentic engineering and computer science skill-building aligned with workforce readiness. His mentoring philosophy emphasizes leading by example, working directly alongside scientists, engineers, and educators to inspire student research and projects presented at national and international scientific and educational conferences.
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The 69th Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner, taking place on Friday, March 13, 2026, at the Washington Hilton, has reached full capacity with all tickets currently sold out. Individuals and organizations interested in attending are encouraged to join the waitlist to secure their spot in line if any tickets become available. For specific questions, please contact the Space Club at info@spaceclub.org or by calling 202-547-0060.
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The National Space Club and Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to fostering excellence in space activity through interaction between industry and government, and through a continuing program of educational support. Youth Education is a premier focus of the Club, providing over $160,000 in scholarships and internships each year. Awards are offered to recognize outstanding accomplishments in spaceflight, engineering, science, management, and education.
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