NASA Michoud Assembly Facility’s Hurricane Gustav Rideout Crew Honored with Director’s Commendation Award
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – David King, director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has awarded the Director’s Commendation to members of the Hurricane Gustav rideout crew at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans for their outstanding effort in planning and implementing emergency operations to protect the facility.
As Hurricane Gustav approached the Gulf Coast, the 51-person rideout crew 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.
“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,” said King during the awards ceremony October 14. “We honor you for your service and dedication to NASA’s spaceflight program.”
Members of the rideout crew honored for their service 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 .
During the storm, the Michoud facility experienced maximum sustained winds up to 70 miles per hour (mph) with gusts up to 114 mph. A storm surge of approximately 13 feet was measured in the Michoud harbor area.
With over 3.8-million square feet of infrastructure, including a port with deep water access, Michoud is one of the world’s largest manufacturing plants. For 35 years, it has manufactured and built the Space Shuttle Program’s external tank. Today it supports several major projects for the Constellation Program, which is developing NASA’s next generation of crew exploration and launch vehicles — including the Ares I rocket, the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle and the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The Marshall Center manages the Michoud facility.
Michoud is located on 832 acres and the facility consists of more than 2.2 million square feet of manufacturing space and features a full complement of state-of-the-art plant and tooling equipment. The Michoud facility is one of the largest employers in Louisiana with more than 4,200 employees on-site.
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