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 duties has distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and mankind." It is awarded by the President on recommendations from the NASA Administrator. The award is a separate decoration from the Medal of Honor, which is a military award for extreme bravery and gallantry in combat.

Although the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is a civilian award of the United States government, it is authorized as a military decoration for display on U.S. military uniforms due to the prestige of the decoration. In such cases, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor is worn as a ribbon following all United States Armed Forces decorations.

To be awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, an astronaut must perform feats of extraordinary accomplishment while participating in actual space flight under the authority of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 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. The Congressional Space Medal of Honor may also be presented posthumously to those astronauts who died in the line of duty while performing a United States space mission.

Recipients

As of 2006, 28 astronauts have been honored with the award, which is presented by the President of the United States in Congress's name. The ^† symbol indicates a posthumous award.

Photo	Name	Date	Awarded by	Notes	Ref(s)
	Armstrong Neil Armstrong	1978-10-01October 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter	Apollo 11 (Commander of the first lunar landing)
	Borman Frank Borman	1978-10-01October 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter	Apollo 8 (Commander of the first lunar orbit)
	Conrad Charles "Pete" Conrad	1978-10-01October 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter	Skylab 2 (first Skylab Commander)
	Glenn John Glenn	1978-10-01October 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter	Mercury-Atlas 6 (first American in orbit)
	Grissom Virgil "Gus" Grissom†	1978-10-01October 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter	Apollo 1 and Gemini 3 (Commander of the first manned Gemini)
	Shepard Alan Shepard	1978-10-01October 1, 1978	Jimmy Carter	Mercury-Redstone 3 (first American in space)
	Young John W. Young	1981-05-19May 19, 1981	Ronald Reagan	STS-1 (Commander of the first shuttle flight)
	Stafford Thomas P. Stafford	1993-01-19January 19, 1993	George H. W. Bush	Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (U. S. Commander)
	Lovell James Lovell	1995-07-26July 26, 1995	Bill Clinton	Apollo 13 (Commander of the ill-fated mission)
	Lucid Shannon Lucid	1996-12-02December 2, 1996	Bill Clinton	Longest female spaceflight (passed by Sunita Williams)
	Chaffee Roger Chaffee†	1997-12-17December 17, 1997	Bill Clinton	Died aboard Apollo 1
	White Edward White†	1997-12-17December 17, 1997	Bill Clinton	Apollo 1 and Gemini 4 (first U.S. space walk)
	Shepherd William Shepherd	2003-01-15January 15, 2003	George W. Bush	Expedition 1 (first ISS Commander)
	Husband Rick Husband†	2004-02-03February 3, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-107 (died aboard Columbia)
	McCool Willie McCool†	2004-02-03February 3, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-107 (died aboard Columbia)
	Anderson Michael P. Anderson†	2004-02-03February 3, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-107 (died aboard Columbia)
	Chawla Kalpana Chawla†	2004-02-03February 3, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-107 (died aboard Columbia)
	Brown David M. Brown†	2004-02-03February 3, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-107 (died aboard Columbia)
	Clark Laurel B. Clark†	2004-02-03February 3, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-107 (died aboard Columbia)
	Ramon Ilan Ramon†	2004-02-03February 3, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-107 (died aboard Columbia, only non-U.S. citizen recipient)
	Scobee Dick Scobee†	2004-07-23July 23, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger)
	Smith Michael Smith†	2004-07-23July 23, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger)
	Resnik Judith Resnik†	2004-07-23July 23, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger)
	McNair Ronald McNair†	2004-07-23July 23, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger)
	Onizuka Ellison Onizuka†	2004-07-23July 23, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger)
	Jarvis Greg Jarvis†	2004-07-23July 23, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger)
	McAuliffe Christa McAuliffe†	2004-07-23July 23, 2004	George W. Bush	STS-51-L (died aboard Challenger, teacher)
	Crippen Robert Crippen	2006-04-26April 26, 2006	George W. Bush	STS-1 (first shuttle flight, Pilot)

References