NASA, in search of a way to acknowledge technicians, suppliers, and support staff whose work was of especially, well, stellar value, came up with the idea for the Silver Snoopy Award in 1968. The Silver Snoopy Award is unusual in that it is actually awarded by astronauts, “‘In Appreciation’ For professionalism, dedication, and outstanding support that greatly enhanced space flight safety and mission success.” The man responsible for coming up with the award was Al Chop, then the Director of Public Affairs for the Manned Spacecraft Center, and the Award was supposed to help promote better and more positive interactions between the hundreds of thousands of people whose work was necessary to make each mission a success.
In-Depth How Snoopy Ended Up On The Speedmaster, And The 50th Anniversary Of The Apollo 13 Incident
