The National Space Club & Foundation announced its annual award recipients March 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Two dedicated leaders from NASA’s Johnson Space Center were recognized for their contributions to human spaceflight.
Orion Program Manager Howard Hu received the Norman L. Baker Astronautics Engineer Award for sustained technical contributions to multiple human spaceflight efforts.
Hu leads the design, development, production, and operations of Orion, NASA’s spacecraft for Artemis missions to the Moon. He has held several leadership roles within the Orion program, including deputy program manager, a manager of the Avionics, Power, and Software Office, and deputy manager of the Vehicle Integration Office. Hu has supported Orion since its inception, beginning as the Vehicle System Performance and Analysis lead.
On April 1, 2026, Artemis II launched on a 10-day voyage around the Moon, marking the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down safely inside Orion April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. At their farthest point, the crew and spacecraft traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, setting a new record for the greatest distance traveled by humans in space.
The mission successfully proved the capability of Orion’s critical systems such as life support with humans aboard. Data from Artemis II will help refine mission operations and further evaluate Orion’s performance in deep space, supporting future Artemis missions.
NASA and its partners are now shifting their focus to Artemis III, which will test integrated ope …