Artemis II Astronaut Honors Northrop Grumman Team for Contribution to Historic Mission
Silver Snoopy award recipients Tim Anderson, Steve Benzinger, Ricky Hatch, Ben Henderson, Stacie Isaacson, Adam Lyons, Dale Nielsen, Clay Poulter and David Vaughn stand with Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch during her visit to Northrop Grumman’s Promontory, Utah, facility. (Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)
PROMONTORY, Utah – Oct. 16, 2026 – Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch recently recognized nine dedicated employees from Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) with the esteemed NASA Silver Snoopy Award. This award acknowledges their significant contributions to the development of the largest human-rated rocket ever, a key element in facilitating the success of the Artemis II mission. The rocket’s booster generated an impressive 7.2 million pounds of thrust, accounting for more than 75% of the total lift-off thrust. Additionally, Northrop Grumman engineered the abort motor and attitude control motor—two of the three solid rocket motors integral to the Orion spacecraft’s Launch Abort System, designed to safeguard the crew during both pad operations and ascent.
The NASA Silver Snoopy Award is a rare honor, bestowed on fewer than 1% of the NASA workforce and contractor professionals annually. It serves as an astronaut’s personal accolade for outstanding contributions to flight safety and mission success. With an investment of $1 billion in propulsion since 2018, Northrop Grumman’s employees nationwide continue to propel America into a new era of human space exploration, with booster stacking for Artemis III already complete.
Source: Northrop Grumman (2026-10-15T20:38:00Z)
