NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility crew in eastern N.O. gets award for

New Orleans CityBusiness, Oct 17, 2008 by Reports

The director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has given an award to the crew that rode out Hurricane Gustav at Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans.

David King gave the Director's Commendation to the the 51-person "rideout" crew that stayed on the Michoud site to secure the facility, monitor the hurricane and ride out the storm. Its members include NASA civil service, Lockheed Martin contractor employees and Coastal International Security personnel.

During the storm, the Michoud facility experienced maximum sustained winds up to 70 mph with gusts up to 114 mph. A storm surge of approximately 13 feet was measured in the Michoud harbor area.

"The Michoud Assembly Facility Hurricane Gustav rideout crew prepared, secured and maintained critical infrastructure; preserved spaceflight hardware; and safeguarded more than $2 billion of NASA assets while risking their lives during a period of five days before, during and after Hurricane Gustav," King said.

An awards ceremony was held Tuesday.

The honored crew members include Stephen A. Turner, Stephen J. Ehrlicher, Guy M. Jackson, Kevin M. Pace, Vickie A. Schmersahl, David J. Turnage, Glenn L. Marx, Gregory C. Hanrahan, William J. Tardy, David C. Reese, Michael A. Parquet, Joe E. Kennedy, Richard J. Roberts, Nicholas J. Jones, Joseph C. Barrett, Cornell P. Mathieu, Manuel C. Johnson, Eugene J. Harris, Byran D. Walker, Edward C. Cummings, Russell L. Crawford, Gregory R. Lain, Alan J. Rovira, Simmie P. Herrin, Stephen L. Francis, William C. Hale, Miles J. Arthur, Wesley D. Clampitt, Joshua A. Goyette, Gregory W. Heaslip, Leonel C. Harrache, David E. Dyer, Patrick S. Shea, Gino Saladino, David C. Morrow, Robert W. Poche, Donald Bollich, Willie F. Henderson, Jason A. Cobden, Marlene M. Theriot, Larry D. Primeaux, Doretha A. Parker, Thomas G. Marie, Trellis Carter, Danielle A. Phillips-Fields, Christopher M. Butler, Christopher D. Merz, Jason M. Pohlmann, Ronald J. Tagliaferri, Eric D. Dede and Shawn Jayne .

Michoud, which sits on 832 acres, consists of more than 2.2 million square feet of manufacturing space and more than 4,200 employees.