2 NASA Employees Win Awards for Planetary Defense

Brian Key and Scott Bellamy, who served as program manager and mission manager, respectively, for NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, were each presented with the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal on Tuesday during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The awards, known as the "Sammies," honor career federal employees for work that inspires public service while also benefiting the nation.

In November 2021, NASA launched the DART mission spacecraft on a course to travel 6.8 million miles and intentionally impact the 492-foot-diameter asteroid Dimorphos while traveling at about 14,000 mph and consequently altering its orbit around a larger asteroid.

In September 2022, the DART mission did just that, "demonstrating one planetary defense method that could be used to protect Earth from a potentially hazardous asteroid on a collision course with our home planet if one were ever discovered," NASA said.

According to the space agency, the DART collision altered the asteroid's 12-hour orbit period by about 30 minutes.

“DART was a first-of-its-kind mission that marked a watershed moment for planetary defense,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “The DART team members are some of the very best of NASA, and we are so excited to see Brian Key and Scott Bellamy recognized for their contributions and leadership. Brian, Scott, and the entire DART team have shaped the course of human space exploration, inspiring people around the world through innovation. Thanks to their dedication and hard work, NASA is better prepared to defend our home planet and will be ready for whatever the universe throws at us.”