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 contributions to the welfare of the Nation and mankind".[1] It's awarded by the President of the United States in Congress's name on recommendations from the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The award is a separate decoration from the Medal of Honor, which is a military award for extreme bravery and gallantry in combat.

Congressional Space Medal of Honor
TypeMedal
Awarded for"exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and mankind"
CountryUnited States
Presented bythe United States Congress
EligibilityNASA astronauts
StatusActive
EstablishedSeptember 29, 1969
First awardedOctober 1, 1978
Total28
Total awarded posthumously17
Congressional Space Medal of Honor ribbon
Precedence
Next (higher)(none)
Next (lower)NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal
Neil Armstrong being awarded the first medal by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, with subsequent recipients Borman and Conrad seated.

While the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is a civilian award of the United States government, it is authorized as a non-military decoration for display on U.S. military uniforms because it is awarded by a federal agency. In such cases, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is worn as a ribbon "immediately preceding the Prisoner of War Medal".[2] DoD policy specifically prohibits wear of any non-military awards for valor or service, but the Congressional Space Medal of Honor only recognizes meritorious achievement, so it does not fall under this prohibition.[3]

To be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, an astronaut must perform feats of extraordinary accomplishment while participating in space flight under the authority of NASA. Typically, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is awarded for scientific discoveries or actions of tremendous benefit to mankind. The decoration may also be awarded for extreme bravery during a space emergency or in preventing a major space disaster, or posthumously to those astronauts who die while performing a U.S. space mission. As of 2022, all 17 astronauts killed on US missions had been awarded the medal.

President George W. Bush awarded the most CSMOH with 16; 14 of them posthumous for crews of the two destroyed space shuttle flights, Challenger and Columbia. President Joe Biden awarded the CSMOH to Crew Dragon Demo-2 members Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on January 31, 2023. The 16-year hiatus from April 2006 to January 2023 is the longest gap between awards.

Recipients

The medal has been awarded to 28 astronauts, of which 17 were made posthumously for those who died preparing for or during an American spaceflight. Of those 17, three died in the Apollo 1 fire, seven died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and seven in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Four of the twelve moonwalkers received the medal (Armstrong, Conrad, Shepard, and Young), but only Neil Armstrong for his lunar mission. The New Nine class of U.S. astronauts (the second group of astronauts selected by NASA) has the most recipients of the medal, with seven. Second is NASA Astronaut Group 8 which received five awards, four for astronauts killed in the Challenger Disaster (Shannon Lucid is the only Group 8 astronaut to receive the award who was not killed in the Challenger Disaster).

Eight recipients are living, four over 80 years old. Frank Borman is the last remaining of the first six recipients of the CSMOH in 1978.

In the table below, an asterisk indicates a posthumous award.

Photo Name Date Awarded by Notes Ref(s)
Neil Armstrong Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Apollo 11 (Commander of the first lunar landing, first man to walk on the Moon) [1][4]
Frank Borman Frank Borman (1928–) October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Apollo 8 (Commander of the first lunar orbit) [1][5]
Pete Conrad Pete Conrad (1930–1999) October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Skylab 2 (first Skylab Commander; responsible for salvaging the critically malfunctioning station) [1][6]
John Glenn John Glenn (1921–2016) October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Mercury-Atlas 6 (first American in orbit) [1][7]
Gus Grissom Gus Grissom* (1926–1967) October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Mercury-Redstone 4, Gemini 3 (spacecraft commander of the first manned Gemini mission), Apollo 1 (spacecraft commander); died aboard Apollo 1 [1][8]
Alan Shepard Alan Shepard (1923–1998) October 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter Mercury-Redstone 3 (first American in space) [1][9]
John Young John Young (1930–2018) May 19, 1981 Ronald Reagan Commander of STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission [1][10]
Thomas Stafford Thomas P. Stafford (1930–) January 19, 1993 George H. W. Bush Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (U.S. Commander) [1][11]
James Lovell Jim Lovell (1928–) July 26, 1995 Bill Clinton Apollo 13 (Commander of the ill-fated mission) [1][12]
Shannon Lucid Shannon Lucid (1943–) December 2, 1996 Bill Clinton Longest female spaceflight (passed by Sunita Williams) [1][13]
Roger Chaffee Roger Chaffee* (1935–1967) December 17, 1997 Bill Clinton Died aboard Apollo 1 [1][14]
Edward White Ed White* (1930–1967) December 17, 1997 Bill Clinton Gemini 4 (first U.S. space walk) and Apollo 1; died aboard Apollo 1 [1][14]
William Shepherd William Shepherd (1949–) January 15, 2003 George W. Bush Expedition 1 (first ISS Commander) [1][15]
Rick Husband Rick Husband* (1957–2003) February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1][16]
Willie McCool Willie McCool* (1961–2003) February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1][16]
Michael Anderson Michael P. Anderson* (1959–2003) February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1][16]
Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla* (1962–2003) February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1][16]
David Brown David M. Brown* (1956–2003) February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1][16]
Laurel Clark Laurel Clark* (1961–2003) February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia) [1][16]
Ilan Ramon Ilan Ramon* (1954–2003) February 3, 2004 George W. Bush STS-107 (died aboard Columbia, only non-U.S. citizen recipient) [1][17]
Dick Schobee Dick Scobee* (1939–1986) July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1][18]
Michael Smith Michael J. Smith* (1945–1986) July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1][18]
Judith Resnik Judith Resnik* (1949–1986) July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1][18]
Ronald McNair Ronald McNair* (1950–1986) July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1][18]
Ellison Onizuka Ellison Onizuka* (1946–1986) July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1][18]
Greg Jarvis Gregory Jarvis* (1944–1986) July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger) [1][18]
Christa McAuliffe Christa McAuliffe* (1948–1986) July 23, 2004 George W. Bush STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger, teacher) [1][18]
Robert Crippen Robert Crippen (1937–) April 26, 2006 George W. Bush STS-1 (first Space Shuttle flight, Pilot) [1][19]
Doug Hurley Doug Hurley (1966–) January 31, 2023 Joe Biden Crew Dragon Demo-2 (first Astronaut crew into orbit aboard commercial vehicle, Commander) [20]
Bob Behnken Bob Behnken (1970–) January 31, 2023 Joe Biden Crew Dragon Demo-2 (first Astronaut crew into orbit aboard commercial vehicle, Pilot) [20]

See also

References
  1. "Congressional Space Medal of Honor". NASA. April 28, 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  2. DoDI 1348.33, Dec. 21, 2016, Change 5, Apr. 9, 2021, Sec. 11: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/134833p.pdf
  3. DoDI 1348.33, Dec. 21, 2016, Change 5, Apr. 9, 2021, Sec. 11(a)
  4. Hubbard, Ben (August 2015). Neil Armstrong and Getting to the Moon. Capstone. ISBN 9781484625200. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  5. "International Space Hall of Fame :: New Mexico Museum of Space History :: Inductee Profile". www.nmspacemuseum.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  6. "International Space Hall of Fame :: New Mexico Museum of Space History :: Inductee Profile". www.nmspacemuseum.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  7. "President Obama Awards John Glenn with Medal of Freedom - SpaceNews.com". SpaceNews.com. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  8. "Gus Grissom: Remembering NASA's 'Forgotten' Astronaut". AmericaSpace. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  9. "International Space Hall of Fame :: New Mexico Museum of Space History :: Inductee Profile". www.nmspacemuseum.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  10. "National Space Grant Distinguished Service Award - 2007 | National Space Grant Foundation". www.spacegrant.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  11. "Moon Rock to be Awarded to Apollo-Soyuz Astronaut Thomas Stafford". Space.com. 27 June 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  12. "Real-Life Apollo Astronaut Wins Medal". Pensacola News Journal. Pensacola, Florida. Associated Press. July 27, 1995. p. 2A – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "1st Woman Wins Space Medal of Honor". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 3 December 1996. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  14. "William J. Clinton: Remarks on Presenting the Congressional Space Medal of Honor Posthumously to Roger B. Chaffee and Edward H. White II". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  15. "International Space Hall of Fame :: New Mexico Museum of Space History :: Inductee Profile". www.nmspacemuseum.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  16. Learning, Jones & Bartlett (2010). Exploring Space: The High Frontier. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9780763789619. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  17. "Ilan Ramon took tragic reminders, hope into space". AAAS - The World's Largest General Scientific Society. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  18. "Our SpaceFlight Heritage: 29th anniversary of Challenger disaster - SpaceFlight Insider". www.spaceflightinsider.com. 2015-01-28. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  19. "Former astronaut Robert Crippen is honored". phys.org. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  20. "Former NASA Astronauts to Receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor". nasa.gov. 30 January 2023. MEDIA ADVISORY M23-011. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.

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