The Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Memorial Award was established in 1960 to honor Nelson P. Jackson, a founder and first president of the National Space Club. This award is the club's second most prestigious honor and it recognizes outstanding contributions to advancements in the missile, aircraft, and space fields.

Described by NASA as “the space world's equivalent of an Academy Award" it is presented annually by the National Space Club during the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner in Washington, D.C.

Nelson P. Jackson was a highly decorated Air Force colonel, involved in the military atomic energy program, and had served with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was also a prominent D.C. attorney and the D.C. manager for GE's Atomic Energy Division.

The National Space Club is the premier non-profit organization dedicated to advancing space leadership, technology, and education in the United States. Bringing together industry leaders, government officials, educators, and private individuals, the club fosters collaboration in astronautics and ensures that critical space-related information is shared with the public.List of past Nelson P Jackson award winnerNational Space ClubList of past Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Award winners

List of Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Memorial Award winners

+ Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Memorial Winners Year Company/Organization Image Achievement Notes1960Bell Aerospace Company, Douglas Aircraft Company, General ElectricFor development of the Discoverer Satellite 1961 Rocketdyne, Bell Aerosystems, Douglas Aircraft, GE, and Lockheed Corp. Discoverer 13, developed the first recovery of a vehicle from space (August 11, 1960). 1962 RCA - Astro-Electronics Division Designed and constructed the Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS). 1963 AT&T Developed the Telstar communications satellite. 1964 McDonnell Aircraft and General Dynamics Developed the Project Mercury capsule (McDonnell) and Atlas booster rocket (General Dynamics). 1965 Pratt & Whitney Demonstrated the technical feasibility of liquid hydrogen as the next high-energy fuel for space exploration. 1966 NASA, U.S. Air Force, Aerojet, GE, IBM, Westinghouse Recognized all teams responsible for the five successful crewed flights in Project Gemini. 1967 Boeing Developed the Lunar Orbiter program. 1968 Hughes Aircraft Developed the Surveyor spacecraft that soft-landed on the Moon. 1969 Rocketdyne, North American Rockwell Developed the Lunar Module ascent engine.1970The Grumman Corporation 1971 NOAA Space Technology Team For Advancement in space research goals. 1972 Boeing Designed the Lunar Rover.1973General Electric 1974NASA Ames-TRW Systems Pioneer 10 Team NASA Pioneer 10 space probe that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter1975NASA-Fairchild Industries and the ATS-6 Team For the ATS-6, the world's first educational satellite1976The Delta Launch Vehicle Team of NASA and McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company For developing the Delta Launch Vehicle rocket-powered expendable launch systems 1977 Denver Division of Martin Marietta Aerospace For its superb technical achievement in successfully operating two spacecraft on the planet Mars with the Viking Program. 1978 TRW Work on the High Energy Astronomy Observatory. 1979 Hughes Aircraft Pioneer Venus project mission.1980The JPL/Industry Team1981The NASA/Industry Centaur Team: Convair Division of General Dynamics Corp.; Honeywell, Inc.; NASA/Lewis Research Center; Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Group, United Technologies Corporation; Teledyne Systems CompanyFor the development of the Centaur rocket stage.1982The Industrial Team led by Rockwell International Corporation under NASA leadership 1983 McDonnell Douglas Developed the Payload Assist Module (PAM). 1984 Ball Corp. Built the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS).1985Martin Marietta Aerospace 1986The JSC-Hughes Corp. LEASAT Salvage Team for first satellites to be designed for launch from the Space Shuttle payload bay 1987 JPL and the Voyager Industry Project Team Contributions to the Voyager Project.1988NASA For the High Energy Astronomy Observatory Program HEAO1989Delta 181 Mission Team, McDonnell DouglasFor the Delta 181 Mission, Thrust Vector Experimentnominations to the national aeronautics1990NASA/JPL Government-Industry Voyager Telemetry Array TeamFor the Voyager Telemetry Array, the system of antennas and equipment used on Earth to receive and process telemetry data from the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft1991NASA and the Goddard Space Flight CenterFor the Hubble Space Telescope1992NASA/TRW teamFor the Compton Gamma Ray ObservatoryHouse Committee on Science, Space and Technology report1993NASAHubble Telescope Repair Mission.19941995The Clementine team, Naval Research Lab.For the Clementine spacecraft design, that was used to build the most comprehensive, multispectral geologic lunar map to date."National Research Laboratories Review 19961996US Air Force and Lockheed MartinFor designing, building, and launching the Milstar satellite communication system Air and Space Forces Magazine1997199819992000NASA and JPLFor the Galileo spacecraft2001TRW Systems Group with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center For the Chandra X-ray Observatory2002The Aqua Science Team and NASAFor the Aqua satellite 2003NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman CorporationFor the orbit success of NASA's Aqua Earth Observing System (EOS), Aqua satellite 2004 Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman For work on the TDRSS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System and the Space Network.20052006The Cassini-Huygens probe team For The Cassini-Huygens probe, a space probe sent to study the planet Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites. Jet Propulsion Lab. UNIVERSE2007Lockheed Martin and the University of WashingtonFor the Stardust spacecraft and the identification of possible interstellar dust particles from the capsule's return to Earth in 2006STARDUST Image of the Main Belt Asteroid Anne Frank20082009The MESSENGER teamFor developing the NASA robotic space probe MESSENGER that orbited the planet MercurySEAN CARL SOLOMON Born: Los Angeles2010BoeingFor fielding the first three Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft2011BoeingFor the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Program2012JPL, Mars Curiosity Mission TeamFor the Mars Curiosity roverJet Propulsion Lab Review 20132013The Mars Science Laboratory TeamRecognized for its significance in successfully landing on and exploring the Martian surface.2014Boeing's X-51A WaveRider Team For the uncrewed X-51A WaveRider autonomous flight demonstrator that is "leading the way to hypersonic flight."2015The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) team with MIT Lincoln LaboratoryFor the Lunar Laser Communication System2016Dawn project team and NASAFor the Dawn spacecraft, the first mission to orbit two extraterrestrial targets and the first to encounter a dwarf planet.2017Juno Mission Team, Lockheed MartinFor the Juno spacecraft mission 2018U.S. Military and Industry TeamFor the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) SystemNATIONAL SPACE CLUB & FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2018 AWARD RECIPIENTS2019Delta II Rocket TeamFor 29 years of the success with the Delta II rocket program2020The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration Team For significantly contributing to our knowledge base with the first picture of a Black Hole with Event Horizon Telescope 2021 Parker Solar Probe Team Efforts to untangle the long-standing mysteries of the complex solar environment with the Parker Solar Probe.2022The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies TeamFor the Sentry-II, asteroid monitoring system2022 Award Recipients 2023 Johns Hopkins, Applied Physics Laboratory APL Double Asteroid Redirection Test DART mission. 2024 Artemis I Team Recognized for the historic Artemis I launch. 2025 SpaceX For achieving the first-ever “catch” of a returning space booster with the SpaceX Super Heavy.2025 Award Recipients

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