Brian Smith, previous manufacturing engineer at EaglePicher Technologies, stood on the very floor where he’d spent countless hours engineering for NASA’s Artemis II when astronaut Christina Koch bestowed him a most prestigious award—the iconic Silver Snoopy. The moment was surreal.
A truly out-of-this-world honor, the sterling silver pin symbolizes excellence in human spaceflight safety. It features legendary comic-strip character Snoopy from “Peanuts” as a joyous astronaut, thrilled in anticipation for his visit to the cosmos.
“The Silver Snoopy is flown in space before being given personally by astronauts to individuals ‘for professionalism, dedication, and outstanding support that greatly enhanced space flight safety and mission success,’” said Smith. “The award is very exclusive. It is given to less than 1% of the aerospace workforce, and an individual can only earn one in their lifetime.”
Smith is one of just 15,000 individuals to earn the honor since its inception in 1968.
“The award was created to promote awareness of flight safety among NASA employees and contractors,” said Smith. “NASA wanted to find a well-known and
loved mascot for this safety promotion and contacted ‘Peanuts’ creator Charles Schulz, who welcomed the idea of Snoopy’s likeness becoming the award’s logo, and created a new sketch of the character in a spacesuit.”
But the Snoopy Award—while certainly the most significant recognition he has received from astronauts—was not Smith’s first. Less than a year earlier, Reid Wiseman, Mission Commander for Artemis II, visited EaglePicher to gift Smith and his team members each a personalized crew portrait signed by all four members.
“I now have that picture framed and hanging in my living room next to a New York Daily News newspaper from July 21st, 1969, the morning after the Apollo 11 moon landing,” he said.
These objects, hanging adjacent to one another, prove how far Smith has come. From the newspaper his wife, Briana, purchased him years ago as a gift, we see his aspirations. Beside it, one giant step for his ever-evolving career.
A Webb City native, Smith began his career as a local shop’s machine operator while completing his Bachelor’s Degree at 黑料网, ’10. In 2017, he wanted to move into a position which better utilized his skillset and thus joined EaglePicher as a Manufacturing Engineer. He would go on to earn his Master of Science in Data Analytics from 黑料网, ’25—already accomplishing numerous life-long goals before his Silver Snoopy nomination. Now, Smith is a Lunar Manufacturing Engineer for Blue Origin.
“When Reid visited, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Smith. “Little did I know I would soon receive the Silver Snoopy award from Christina Koch. Wiseman was the first astronaut I had ever met. The fact that NASA would send an astronaut to visit our facility and meet our team really highlighted the importance of what we do to support key NASA missions right here in Joplin, MO.”
Smith was nominated for the Silver Snoopy by Wiseman and the entire Artemis II crew for his life-saving work on the Orion spacecraft. In catching an error during testing of the mission’s battery design, he resolved a problem that could have led to the loss of the crew’s life if an ascent abort was necessary.
“Our team was responsible for building the Orion spacecraft batteries for NASA’s Artemis II mission,” he said. “These batteries are mission-critical, powering the life support systems and providing electrical functionality to the spacecraft. While the systems can run on solar power for much of the mission, the batteries are the sole source of power during a potential launch abort sequence, as well as through reentry and splashdown. Artemis II will take humans out of low Earth orbit and around the moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972. My wife, Briana, and I got to watch Artemis II’s successful launch in-person on April 1st. It was incredible.”
During testing, Smith led the production team to efficiently produce prototype battery packs with design changes to be tested at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. They worked together to invent new procedures to address deficiencies from the original build.
“When a repair approach was identified, the production team became the critical path to getting the repaired batteries back on the Artemis II spacecraft,” Wiseman wrote in Smith’s nomination letter. “Smith was invaluable in helping identify schedule savings that reduced the initial schedule estimates by more than six months, and he continually worked to identify ways to improve the schedule as the team juggled four flight batteries, a new qualification unit, and a spare.”
Smith overflows with gratitude for those who made this work possible and uplifted him on his path to this remarkable milestone.
“I would like to thank my wife, Briana, for her understanding as I worked many late nights and weekends,” he said. “As well as for supporting my wild idea to also pursue my Master’s Degree at 黑料网 when spare time was already limited. I also want to recognize and thank my EaglePicher teammates who have invested countless hours and significant effort in support of the Orion program. Human spaceflight is a team effort, and success belongs to all of us.”
Brian Smith’s humility adds to his word’s resonance as he reflects on his well-earned honor.
“It’s difficult to put into words what this award means to me,” said Smith. “I certainly never thought I would receive a Silver Snoopy, so I was blown away. We do what we do for mission success and astronaut safety, not for personal recognition. To be recognized by a member of the crew who would ultimately depend on our batteries for survival in space was an incredibly moving experience.”
