Feb 16 2011
NASA has honored Neptec Design Group, provider of defense, space and industrial solutions, with the George M. Low Award at NASA's eighth annual Project Management Challenge in Long Beach.
Neptec is the first non-US company to receive this award. The award was offered under small business product category for building machine vision systems that can be operated in adverse space conditions and effectively assist NASA's Johnson Space Center’s Space Shuttle Program.
Neptec is one among the four firms to receive the George M. Low Award. The award identifies companies that are dedicated to team effort, administrative and technical superiority, client service and security.
John Shannon, Program Manager of Space Shuttle, congratulated Neptec on receiving the Low Award as well as for their exceptional performance. He added that Neptec has been a major collaborator with both NASA and the Space Shuttle Program, enabling them to safely bring back the space vehicle after every flight.
Neptec has supplied space-authorized flight machine vision products to three space programs of NASA and has also assisted more than 40 space shuttle operations with over 30,000 hours logged in Mission Control. The firm has also received the maximum rating for consecutive three years in a yearly contractor performance.
Lain Christie, President of Neptec, has mentioned that the Low Award depicts the quality of their technology, dedication of their staff to ensure quality and their collaboration with clients for handling difficult issues.
The George M. Low Award was previously named as NASA's Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity and the new name was offered in 1990 in remembrance of George M. Low, who served as NASA’s deputy administrator between 1969 and 1976. He led several space programs.
According to Steve MacLean, President of the Canadian Space Agency, Neptec has been identified as a pioneer in innovation, not only in Canada but also worldwide. He added that the company depicts the contribution offered by Canada to the global space program.