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 - (PHOTO RELEASE) Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch is honoring nine Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) employees with the prestigious NASA Silver Snoopy Award for their work to build the largest human-rated rocket ever, which helped make the Artemis II mission possible. The booster provided 7.2 million pounds of thrust, more than 75% of the total thrust at lift off. The company also produced the abort motor and attitude control motor, two of three solid rocket motors of the Orion spacecraft's Launch Abort System that protect the crew on pad and during ascent.

NASA's Silver Snoopy Award-an award received by less than 1% of NASA workforce and contractor employees receive the award each year-is an astronaut's personal award for exceptional contributions to flight safety and mission. With Northrop Grumman's $1 billion propulsion investment since 2018, employees across the country are helping to accelerate America's next era of human space exploration with booster stacking already complete for Artemis III.