The Breitling Orbiter 3 Team
The Breitling Orbiter 3 Team-- piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones and directed by Alan Noble -- received the current achievement award for the first successful circumnavigation of the globe by balloon.
The success of Breitling Orbiter 3 was built upon two previous attempts: Breitling Orbiter in 1997 and Breitling Obiter 2 in 1998. Those experiences enabled the Breitling team to develop trustworthy technical systems and a basic strategy in which the balloon would fly at altitudes of up to 36,000 feet, and to where jet stream winds would drive it across the Pacific at up to 105 miles an hour. The flight, which began in the Swiss Alps on March 1, 1999, was successfully completed when the balloon touched down in the Egyptian desert nearly three weeks later on March 21.
Dr. Simon Ramo
Dr. Simon Ramo received the lifetime achievement award for his distinguished career in aerospace, which includes co-founding the Fortune 500 company TRW, as well as for his role in helping forge the cooperation between government and industry that was essential to establishing the United States as a world leader in space technology.
Dr. Ramo received his doctorate at California Institute of Technology and went on to join the General Electric Research Laboratories. He was recognized as one of America's most outstanding young electrical engineers after accumulating 25 patents in electronics before turning 30. He is also a noted pioneer in microwave technology.
While an employee at Hughes Aircraft Co., Dr. Ramo developed fire control, radar, navigation, computer and other aircraft-electronic systems. In 1953, Dr. Ramo and fellow engineer Dean Wooldridge left Hughes and founded the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation, which later became TRW. Dr. Ramo is the "R" in TRW.
Dr. Ramo's invaluable contributions are illustrated by the innovations he developed in the management of complex, high-technology projects. Known as "systems engineering," these techniques have since become fundamental to today's aerospace, computer and other high-tech industries.
The National Air and Space Museum Trophy
Established in 1985, the National Air and Space Museum Trophy is among the Smithsonian's most distinguished awards. The trophy is a striking John Safer sculpture, titled "Web Space." It is on display at the museum. Past honorees have included space shuttle astronauts Kathy Sullivan and Bruce McCandless, the SR-71 "Blackbird" design team, aerobatics pilot Patty Wagstaff, retired U.S. Air Force General Bernard Schriever, and the Mars Pathfinder Team.