Thursday, November 7, 2024
Celebrating the Future of Air and Space
NASA Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli - Spirit of Discovery Award
NASA Astronaut and U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel
NASA Experience
Jasmin Moghbeli was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class and reported for duty in August 2017. She completed two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate and was assigned technical duties in the exploration office, focusing on the development of the Human Landing System.
On August 26, 2023, Moghbeli launched to the International Space Station (ISS) as Commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and successfully docked on August 27, 2023. During her mission, she traveled 84,434,094 miles, spent 197 days aboard the ISS, and completed 3,184 orbits around Earth. The Crew-7 mission marked her first spaceflight.
Throughout the mission, Moghbeli and her team contributed to numerous science and maintenance activities, including technology demonstrations, and conducted hundreds of experiments. Notably, she participated in one spacewalk to replace a trundle bearing assembly on the port solar alpha rotary joint. The mission also included the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations and an experiment on growing food in space.
The Crew-7 mission concluded successfully with a splashdown off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on March 12, 2024, completing a six-month science mission aboard the ISS.
Military
Jasmin Moghbeli was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 2005. She earned her wings of gold as a Naval Aviator in 2008 and began her operational flying career with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367) Scarface. Moghbeli has flown over 150 combat missions and logged over 2,000 hours of flight time in more than 25 different aircraft. She served multiple deployments, including in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and with Marine Expeditionary Units.
Her military career also included a role as a test pilot, where she conducted developmental flight tests on various systems and aircraft. At the time of her selection by NASA, she was serving as the quality assurance and avionics officer for Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1).
Personal
Jasmin Moghbeli was born in Bad Nauheim, Germany, but considers Baldwin, New York her hometown. She holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering with information technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. She is married to Sam Wald of San Antonio, Texas, and they have twin daughters. The family enjoys outdoor activities such as paddle boarding, dancing, flying kites, and skateboarding.
John Couluris - Leroy R. Grumman Award
John Couluris is the Senior Vice President of Lunar Permanence at Blue Origin. In this role, he manages and oversees the entire portfolio of projects of Blue Origin’s Lunar Permanence business unit that includes both Crew and Cargo Landers and Zero Boiloff. In addition, John is the Program Manager for the Blue Origin led National Team, a combined effort of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Draper, Honeybee Robotics, and Astrobotic, working with NASA on the Sustaining Lunar Development Program. John joined Blue Origin in 2020.
Prior to joining Blue Origin, John was the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Reliable Robotics, a company focused on automated aviation systems that will enable air transportation to become safer, more convenient, and transform the way goods and people move around the planet.
John’s career in commercial space began at SpaceX where he was the Senior Director of Launch and Mission Operations. He made history as the lead Mission Director for the Dragon C2+ mission to the International Space Station. The mission restored America’s access to the ISS after the retirement of the Space Shuttle.
After departing SpaceX, John joined Virgin Orbit as Head of Launch Systems. In this role, he oversaw the 747-400 carrier aircraft modification to carry and launch Virgin’s LauncherOne small satellite rocket.
John spent over 10 years in the commercial airline industry. He was the Chief Technology Officer and Advisor to the CEO of Azul Airlines, founded by the team that started JetBlue Airways, where he was responsible for the introduction of cutting-edge technology solutions to improve the customer experience and operational efficiency. Prior to Azul Airlines, John was a pilot at JetBlue Airways on the Airbus A320 and served as Director of Crew Operations.
John served in the US Navy for 10 years as a Naval Aviator, Mission Commander and Instructor Pilot on multiple aircraft and was selected to be a US Navy Test Pilot. John received multiple awards including two Air Medals from the President for flying over 50 combat sorties in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Mr. Couluris received his master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
George Casey - Aviation Leadership Award
George Casey
Chair & Chief Executive Officer
Vantage Group
As Chair and CEO, George Casey is responsible for all aspects of Vantage Group’s corporate strategy, growth initiatives, and global portfolio.
Over 40 years in the airport and aviation sector, George has been involved in capital planning and airport development, finance, operations, commercial management, mergers and acquisitions, and structuring and negotiating partnerships in almost every region of the world. He has participated in the analysis, assessment, and review of more than 170 airports worldwide under different contractual and governance structures and has overseen nearly $10 billion in airport financing in support of capital projects and acquisitions.
Working with key stakeholders, George has led more than 20 successful airport transactions and chaired or served on 16 airport boards of directors worldwide. George is the former Chair of LaGuardia Gateway Partners, which redeveloped and manages LaGuardia Terminal B, and current Chair of JFK Millennium Partners, the Vantage-led company managing Terminal 7 and building the new $4.2 billion Terminal 6 at JFK International Airport.
Before joining Vantage, George held executive positions with KPMG, PwC, and Airport Group International, where he collaborated with stakeholders to solve complex airport and transportation infrastructure challenges in jurisdictions from North America to Australia.
