Larry Bird

Before the question could be finished, Jordan quickly responded, "Larry Bird."[Sports Illustrated, June 21, 2005]. Current NASA awards are as follows:. Michael Jordan, who may have supplanted Bird as the league's most feared clutch player through his heroics with the Chicago Bulls, once was asked who he would want to take a shot with the game on the line, other than himself. Some awards are authorized for wear on active duty military uniforms. An Indiana farm boy who made it to the pros - he never flinched, and he was always clutch. NASA presently bestows a number of medals and decorations to astronauts and other NASA personnel. Larry Bird embodied discipline in the NBA. There is a BOINC distributed computing project called "DSN @ Home" [1] that hopes to use DSN facilities to improve communication with craft in the Voyager program.

The following is merely a sample of the notable clutch efforts of Bird's career:. Deep Space Network (DSN) stations. Few players before or since Bird have performed as brilliantly in critical moments of games. NASA has field and research installations at (by type); some facilities have more than one mission assigned to them due to historical or administrative reasons. Above all, Bird is remembered as one of the foremost clutch performers in the history of the NBA. NASA's headquarters are located in Washington, DC. Unspectactular but effective defensive moves, such as jumping into a passing lane to make a steal or allowing his man to step past and drive to the hoop, then blocking the opponent's shot from behind, were staples of Bird's defensive game. As of 2005, however, all of the European and Japanese contributions to the ISS are years behind development schedule themselves.

He was not fast or quick-footed, and rarely could shut down an individual player one-on-one, but Bird consistently displayed a knack for anticipating the moves of his opponent, thereby reacting to passes and creating turnovers. Other nations that have invested heavily in the space station's construction, such as the members of the European Space Agency, are fearful that the ISS's fate will soon match the fate of Skylab. Bird is also remembered as an excellent defender, as evidenced by his career 1,556 steals. (See also CEV.) The ISS, which was intended to have a crew of seven as of 2005, now has a skeleton crew of two, causing many intended research projects to be delayed. Of the players of his era, only Johnson, and perhaps John Stockton, could execute the no-look or touch pass to a teammate as craftily and creatively as Bird. While the 1986 loss was made up with a Shuttle built from replacement parts, NASA does not plan to build another shuttle to replace the second loss. In addition to his offensive proficiency, Bird made the simple task of passing the ball an artistic feat. The Shuttle fleet has lost two spacecraft and fourteen astronauts in two disasters in 1986 and 2003.

Former teammates of Bird frequently said that through his selfless play and leadership, Bird elevated their level of play. Currently, the ISS relies on the Shuttle fleet for all major construction shipments. Throughout his career, Bird was a fierce competitor and outstanding team leader. Despite the reduction of its budget following project Apollo, NASA has maintained a top-heavy bureaucracy resulting in inflated costs and compromised hardware. His talent for recognizing the moves of opponents and teammates prompted his first coach with the Celtics, Bill Fitch, to nickname him "Kodak," because he seemed to formulate mental pictures of every play that took place on the court. Government proposed eventually replacing the Shuttle with a Crew Exploration Vehicle that would allow the agency to again send astronauts to the Moon. Despite having relatively few athletic advantages (other than his height, at 6'9"), Bird possessed an uncanny and unparalleled ability to anticipate and react to the strategies of his opponents. In 2004 the U.S.

Bird's humble roots led to his most frequently used moniker, "The Hick From French Lick." More cynical or facetious observers called him "The Great White Hope." As a Caucasian superstar in a league dominated by African-American athletes, Bird undoubtedly stood out because of his race, but his skin color has little to do with his place in NBA history. The Apollo spacecraft and Saturn family of launch vehicles were abandoned in 1970 after billions of dollars had been spent on their development. In 2003, he returned as the Pacers' President of Basketball Operations, where he oversees team personnel and coaching moves, as well as the team's draft selections. Some commentators, such as Mark Wade, note that NASA has suffered from a 'stop-start' approach to its human spaceflight programs. Bird resigned as Pacers coach shortly after the end of the 2000 season. The Challenges include tasks that will be useful for implementing the Vision for Space Exploration, such as building more efficient astronaut gloves. He was named the NBA Coach of the Year for the 1997-1998 season. Hoping to spur innovation from the private sector, NASA established a series of Centennial Challenges, technology prizes for non-government teams, in 2004.

Despite having no previous coaching experience, Bird led the Pacers to three straight Eastern Conference finals appearances and one trip to the NBA Finals in 2000. Although the plan initially met with skepticism from Congress, in late 2004 Congress agreed to provide start-up funds for the first year's worth of the new space vision. In 1997, Bird accepted the position of coach of the Indiana Pacers. The future of the ISS is somewhat uncertain – construction will be completed, but beyond that is less clear. The Celtics employed Bird as a special assistant in the team's front office from 1992 until 1997. The space shuttle will be retired in 2010 and the Crew Exploration Vehicle will replace it by 2014, capable of both docking with the ISS and leaving the Earth's orbit. Following Bird's departure, the Celtics promptly retired his number, '33'. According to this plan, humankind will return to the moon by 2020, and set up outposts as a testbed and potential resource for future missions.

For his career, Bird shot 49.6 percent from the field, 88.6 percent from the free throw line and 37.6 percent from three-point range. Bush announced a new plan for NASA's future, dubbed the Vision for Space Exploration. He finished his career with averages of more than 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game. On January 14, 2004, ten days after the landing of Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, President George W. Following his Olympic experience, on August 18, 1992, Bird announced his retirement as an NBA player. government, various scientists, and the public all considered the future of the space program. The "Dream Team" easily won the men's basketball gold medal. The U.S.

It was the first time in America's Olympic history that the country sent professional basketball players to compete. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, which killed the crew of six American and one Israeli astronaut, and caused a 29-month hiatus in space shuttle flights, triggered a serious re-examination of NASA's priorities. In the summer of 1992, Bird joined Johnson, Michael Jordan and other NBA stars to play for the United States basketball team in that year's Olympics. NASA expects to continue exploring the Red Planet with more spacecraft such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which will reach Mars in 2006. Bird led the Celtics to playoff appearances in each of those three seasons. Since 2001, the orbiting Mars Odyssey has been searching for evidence of past or present water and volcanic activity on the red planet. He averaged over 20 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists a game in his last three seasons with the Celtics, and shot better than 45 percent from the field in each. Less publicly acclaimed but performing science from 1997 to date (2005) has been the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.

Nonetheless, through the final years of his career, Bird maintained his status as one of the premier players in the game. Newspapers around the world carried images of the lander dispatching its own rover, Sojourner, to explore the surface of Mars in a way never done before at any extra-terrestrial location. He returned to the Celtics in 1989, but debilitating back problems and an aging Celtic roster prevented him from regaining his mid-1980's form. NASA's most publicly-inspiring mission of recent years has probably been the Mars Pathfinder mission of 1997. Bird started the 1988-89 season with Boston, but ended his season after six games to have bone spurs surgically removed from both of his heels. With over 112 successful launches, NASA's shuttle program is arguably the best manned space program to date. In 1988, the Celtics failed to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in four years, losing to the Pistons in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals. That method was criticized and re-evaluated following the twin losses of Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander in 1999.

Johnson appeared at Bird's retirement ceremony in 1992 and emotionally described Bird as a "friend forever.". Goldin, pioneered the "faster, better, cheaper" approach that enabled NASA to cut costs while still delivering a wide variety of aerospace programs (Discovery Program). Somewhat ironically, their relationship blossomed when the two players worked together to film the 1984 Converse commercial, which depicted them as archenemies. In response, NASA's ninth administrator, Daniel S. Despite the intensity of their rivalry, Bird and Johnson became friends off the court. During much of the 1990s, NASA was faced with shrinking annual budgets due to Congressional belt-tightening in Washington, DC. In fact, their playing styles were not that dissimilar; both relied on knowledge of the game more than pure athletic ability. Even now, the ISS cannot accommodate as many scientists as planned.

In the commercial, Bird is practicing alone on a rural basketball court when Johnson pulls up in a sleek limousine and challenges him to a one-on-one match. The population at large have historically been hard to impress with details of scientific experiments in space, preferring news of grand projects to exotic locations. A 1984 Converse commercial for its "Weapon" line of basketball shoes (endorsed by both Bird and Johnson) reflected the perceived dichotomy between the two players. Costing over one hundred billion dollars, it has been difficult at times for NASA to justify the ISS. The apparent contrast between the two players and their respective teams seemed scripted for television: Bird, the introverted small-town hero with the blue-collar work ethic, fit perfectly with the throwback, hard-nosed style of the Celtics, while the stylish, gregarious Johnson ran the Lakers' fast-paced "Showtime" offense amidst the bright lights and celebrities of Los Angeles. The strength of their cooperation on this project was even more evident when NASA began relying on Russian launch vehicles to service the ISS following the 2003 Columbia disaster, which grounded the shuttle fleet for well over two years. Not since Boston's Bill Russell squared off against the Lakers' Wilt Chamberlain had professional basketball enjoyed such a marquee matchup. This cooperation continues to the present day, with Russia and America the two biggest partners in the largest space station ever built – the International Space Station (ISS).

The historical rift between the teams, who faced each other several times in championship series of the 1960s, fueled fan interest in the rivalry. In 1995 Russian-American interaction would again be achieved as the Shuttle-Mir missions began, and once more a Russian craft (this time a full-fledged space station) docked with an American vehicle. Throughout the 1980s, contests between the Celtics and the Lakers--both during the regular season and in the Finals--attracted enormous television audiences. The HST is a joint project between ESA and NASA, and its success has paved the way for greater collaboration between the agencies. During the 1980s, either Boston or Los Angeles appeared in every NBA Finals. Some of the images it has returned have become near-legendary, such as the groundbreaking Hubble Deep Field images. Between themselves, Bird and Johnson captured eight NBA championships during the 1980s, with Magic getting five and Bird three. The HST was created with a relatively small budget of $2 billion but has continued operation since 1990 and has delighted both scientists and the public.

Johnson's Lakers would ultimately win the Finals again in 1988. Nonetheless, the shuttle has been used to launch milestone projects like the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). In 1987, the Celtics made their last Finals appearance of Bird's career, fighting through difficult series against the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons before losing to the Lakers in six games. The Challenger disaster aside the late 1980s marked a low point for NASA. He also won his third consecutive league MVP award. Work began on Space Station Freedom as a focus for the manned space programme but within NASA there was argument that these projects came at the expense of more inspiring unmanned missions such as the Voyager probes. Bird again was named the Finals' MVP for that year, averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists per game for the series. The shuttle was not all good news for NASA – flights were much more expensive than initially projected, and even after the 1986 Challenger disaster highlighted the risks of space flight, the public again lost interest as missions appeared to become mundane.

The 1986 Celtic team, which finished the regular season 67-15 and defeated the Rockets in six games, is generally considered to be the best of Bird's career. The first to launch, Columbia did so on April 12, 1981. Boston would return to the Finals in 1986, albeit not against Johnson and the Lakers, who lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Houston Rockets. Planned to be a frequently launchable and mostly reusable vehicle, four space shuttles were built by 1985. That year, the NBA again named Bird the league MVP. The space shuttle became the major focus of NASA in the late 1970s and the 1980s. In 1985, however, the Lakers avenged the loss, defeating the Celtics in game 6 of the Finals in Boston Garden. America's first space station, Skylab, occupied NASA from the end of Apollo until the late 1970s.

Bird was also named the league regular season MVP for that year. Although the Cold War would last many more years, this was a critical point in NASA's history and much of the international co-operation in space exploration that exists today has its genesis with this mission. Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the award of Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). On July 17, 1975 an Apollo craft (finding a new use after the cancelling of planned lunar flights) was docked to the Soviet Soyuz 19 spacecraft, in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In 1984, the Celtics defeated the Lakers in a seven-game Finals, winning game seven 111-102. Having lost the moon race, the Soviet Union had, along with the USA, changed its approach. Magic, quickly became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of professional sports. Later, the two Viking probes landed on the surface of Mars and sent color images back to Earth, but perhaps more impressive were the Pioneer and particularly Voyager missions that visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune sending back scientific information and color images.

Celtics, and specifically Bird vs. The Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter missions were essential to assessing lunar conditions before attempting Apollo landings with humans on board. Lakers vs. In 1962 the Mariner 2 mission was launched and became the first spacecraft to make a flyby of another planet – in this case Venus. Bird and Johnson first dueled in the 1979 NCAA title game; as professional basketball players, they would face off numerous times during the 1980's, including the NBA Finals of 1984, 1985 and 1987. Although the vast majority of NASA's budget has been spent on human spaceflight, there have been many robotic missions instigated by the space agency. Immediately upon their entry into the league, the two players became virtually annual presences in the NBA Finals; Bird's Celtics won the NBA title in 1981, while Johnson's Lakers captured the championship in 1980 and 1982. The program ended because of budget cuts (in part due to the Vietnam War) and the desire to develop a reusable space vehicle.

The additions of Bird and Johnson rejuvenated the NBA, which had suffered from low attendance and minimal television interest through much of the 1970s. Although missions up to Apollo 20 were planned, Apollo 17 was the last mission to fly under the Apollo banner. It would be the first of three championships for Bird's career, as well as the first of his five Finals appearances. The near-disaster of Apollo 13, where an oxygen tank explosion nearly doomed all three astronauts, helped to recapture national attention and concern. In the 1980-81 season, Bird led the Celtics past the 76ers to the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Houston Rockets in six games. Plans for ambitious follow-on projects to construct a space station, establish a lunar base and launch a human mission to Mars by 1990 were proposed but with the end to procurement of Saturn and Apollo hardware, there was no capability to support these. In Bird's first few seasons with the Celtics, his and their immediate rivals were Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers, with whom they would battle each year in the Eastern Conference finals. After President Lyndon Johnson left office, NASA lost its main political supporter, and rocket scientist Wernher von Braun was moved to a position lobbying in Washington.

The three would anchor the Celtics throughout Bird's career. NASA had won the moon race, and in some senses this left it without direction, or at the very least without the public attention and interest that was necessary to guarantee large budgets from Congress. With Bird at small forward, the additions of Parish and McHale gave Boston one of the more formidable frontcourts in the game. Twelve men would set foot on the Moon by the end of the Apollo program in December 1972. Following the 1979-80 season, the Celtics acquired center Robert Parish and the draft rights to power forward Kevin McHale via a trade with the Golden State Warriors. Armstrong's first words upon stepping out of the Eagle lander captured the momentousness of the occasion: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind". For the 1979 season, Bird led the Celtics in scoring (21.3 points/game), rebounding (10.4 rebounds/game), steals (143), and minutes played (2,955) and was second in assists (4.5 assists/game) and three-pointers (58). After eight years of preliminary missions, including NASA's first loss of astronauts with the Apollo 1 launch pad fire, and the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon (Apollo 8) at the end of 1968, the Apollo program achieved its goals with Apollo 11 which landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon's surface on July 20, 1969 and returned them to Earth safely on July 24.

Despite a strong rookie season from Johnson, Bird was named the league's 1979 Rookie of the Year and was voted onto the Eastern Conference All-Star team (an honor he would receive for each of his 12 full seasons in the NBA). The Gemini program was started shortly thereafter to provide an interim spacecraft to prove techniques needed for the now much more complicated Apollo missions. Bird's collegiate rival, Magic Johnson, also had entered the NBA in 1979, joining the Los Angeles Lakers. Thus Apollo became a program to land men on the Moon. The Celtics were 32-50 during the 1978-79 season, but with Bird the team improved to 61-21 in 1979-80, winning the league's Atlantic Division. Kennedy's announcement on May 25, 1961 that the United States should commit itself to "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" by 1970. Bird's impact on the Celtics was immediate. The direction of the Apollo program was radically altered following President John F.

Shortly before that deadline, Bird agreed to sign with Boston for a USD$650,000 a year contract, making him the highest-paid rookie in the history of the NBA. Following the success of the Mercury and Gemini programs, the Apollo program was launched to try to do interesting work in space and possibly put men around (but not on) the Moon. Bird ultimately decided to stay another year at Indiana State, but the Celtics retained their exclusive right to sign him until the 1979 NBA Draft. Nine other missions followed, showing that long-duration human space flight was possible, proving that rendezvous and docking with another vehicle in space was possible, and gathering medical data on the effects of weightlessness on humans. The Boston Celtics selected Bird as their first-round draft pick in 1978, even though they were uncertain whether he would play his senior season at Indiana State or enter the NBA. Young on March 23, 1965. After playing only three years at Indiana State, he left as the fifth-highest scorer in NCAA history. The first Gemini flight with astronauts on board, Gemini III, was flown by Virgil "Gus" Grissom and John W.

That year, Bird won the Naismith and Wooden Awards, given to the year's top male college basketball player. Once the Mercury project proved that human spaceflight was possible, project Gemini was launched to conduct experiments and work out issues relating to a moon mission. He carried the ISU Sycamores to the NCAA championship game in 1979, his senior season, only to lose to the Michigan State University Spartans, who were led by his future NBA rival, Magic Johnson. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962 during the 5-hour flight of Friendship 7. After briefly attending a local community college and working numerous odd jobs around the town (including a stint as a garbage man), Bird enrolled at Indiana State University, where he was coached by Bob King. became the first American in space when he piloted Freedom 7 on a 15-minute suborbital flight. However, Bird--homesick, short on money and overwhelmed by the size and population of the university--left the school after one month and returned to French Lick. Shepard Jr.

At the time, Indiana was one of the premier college basketball programs in the country, coached by esteemed head coach Bobby Knight. On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Bird received a basketball scholarship with Indiana University in 1975. military research and defense contracting infrastructure, and technical assistance resulting from experimental aircraft (and the associated military test pilot pool) development in the 1950s. He starred for the area high school team, Springs Valley High School, where he left as the school's all-time scoring leader. Lindell, COL, USAF) were selected/requested to provide assistance to the NASA Space Task Group through coordination with the existing U.S. In spite of his domestic woes, by the time he was a high-school sophomore, Bird had become one of the better basketball players in French Lick. Havenstein, CDR, USN) and Air Force (K.G.

In 1975, after Bird's parents divorced, his father committed suicide. Raines, LTC, USA), Navy (P.L. The Bird family's struggle with poverty was compounded by the alcoholism and personal difficulties of Joe Bird. Army (M.L. Being poor as a child, Bird told Sports Illustrated, "motivates me to this day."[2]. Representatives from the U.S. I don't mean she wouldn't pay the bank, but the children always came first."[1] Bird sometimes was sent to live with his grandmother due to the family's struggles. The Mercury program, initiated in 1958, started NASA down the path of human space exploration with missions designed to discover simply if man could survive in space.

In a 1988 interview with Sports Illustrated, Bird recalled how his mother would make do on the family's meager earnings: "If there was a payment to the bank due, and we needed shoes, she'd get the shoes, and then deal with them guys at the bank. NASA's early programs were research into human spaceflight, and were conducted under the pressure of the competition between the USA and the USSR (the Space Race) that existed during the Cold War. Financial troubles would plague the Bird family for most of Larry's childhood. Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (of which von Braun's team was a part) and the Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA. He grew up in both West Baden and the adjacent town French Lick. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA consisted mainly of the four laboratories and some 8,000 employees of the government's 46-year-old research agency for aeronautics, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), though the probably most important contribution actually had its roots in the German rocket program led by Wernher von Braun, who is today regarded as the father of the United States space program. Bird was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana, the son of Georgia and Joe Bird. On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

. Several months of debate produced agreement that a new federal agency was needed to conduct all nonmilitary activity in space. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of basketball operations for the Pacers, a position he still holds. Eisenhower and his advisers counseled more deliberate measures. After working as an assistant in the Celtics front office from 1992 to 1997, Bird was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. security and technological leadership (known as "Sputnik Shock"), urged immediate and swift action; President Dwight D. He retired as a player from the NBA in 1992. Congress, alarmed by the perceived threat to U.S.

Drafted sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird played small forward for the team for his entire 13-year career. The U.S. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, and was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996. Following the Soviet space program's launch of the world's first man-made satellite (Sputnik 1) on October 4, 1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. Bird is generally considered to be one of the best players in NBA history. Its mission is "to understand and protect our home planet; to explore the Universe and search for life; and to inspire the next generation of explorers". Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is a former NBA basketball player. NASA's vision is "to improve life here, extend life to there, and to find life beyond".

The shot went in, winning the competition 17-15 and capturing Bird's third-straight shootout title. Bird raises his arm in anticipation after firing the winning shot of the 1988 Three Point Contest . . After Bird shot the last ball in the rack, he raised his arm and index finger as the ball was halfway to the rim, and walked away. It is also responsible for long-term civilian and military aerospace research. He did so. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which was established in 1958, is the agency responsible for the public space program of the United States of America. Bird started slowly, then ran off a series of makes, needing to hit his final three shots to beat Ellis. NASA Budget 1958–2005 in 1996 Constant Year Dollars.

Ellis went first and scored 15 points. 1988 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act PL 100-685. In the 1988 All-Star Game Three Point Contest, Bird--the winner of the event in both years since its creation in 1986--faced Seattle Supersonics guard Dale Ellis in the final round of the competition. 1984 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act PL 98-361. Despite a concussion and a resultant severe headache, Bird scored 32 points on 12 for 19 shooting, leading Boston to victory for the game and the series. 1970 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research and Development Act PL 91-119. A hushed Garden crowd watched as Bird was escorted to the locker room, then erupted in the third quarter as Bird dramatically came up the ramp to the court and rejoined his teammates. 1961 – Apollo mission funding PL 87-98 A.

In the second quarter of game 5 of the Celtics' 1991 first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Bird slipped and fell, crashing face-first onto the Boston Garden floor. 1958 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration PL 85-568 (passed on July 29). Bird had previously guaranteed to reporters that Boston would not lose the game; his fourth-quarter performance delivered his promise. NASA Space Flight Medal. Bird outdueled the Hawks' Dominique Wilkins, who scored 47 points in that game. NASA Public Service Medal. In game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, Bird shot 9 of 10 in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points in that quarter alone and lifting the Celtics to a narrow series-clinching victory over Atlanta. NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.

The shot was on line, but glanced off the rim and missed as time expired. NASA Exceptional Technological Achievement Medal. With only a few seconds remaining, he recieved the ball behind the three-point line and fired again. NASA Exceptional Service Medal. Magic Johnson would regain the lead for the Lakers with a clutch shot of his own, but Bird had one final chance to win the game. NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. In game 4 of the 1987 Finals against the Lakers, Bird fought off defender James Worthy, got the ball, turned and hit a three-point shot with less than a minute remaining to give the Celtics the lead. NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal.

Instead, after losing in Detroit, Boston won game 7 and advanced to the Finals. NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal. The dramatic play--known simply to Boston fans as "The Steal"--saved the series for the Celtics, who, had they lost game 5, would have had to win game 6 in Detroit (where they were winless in the series) to force a decisive seventh game. NASA Exceptional Administrative Achievement Medal. With the clock ticking down and with his momentum carrying him out of bounds, Bird turned and fired the ball to teammate Dennis Johnson, who converted a layup with 2 seconds left to win the game for Boston. NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. In game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, with five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and Boston trailing the Pistons 107-106, Bird stole an inbound pass from Isiah Thomas intended for Bill Laimbeer. NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal.

In the clinching game 6 of the 1986 Finals, Bird recorded a triple-double (the basketball term for double-digit numbers in three categories) of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. NASA Distinguished Service Medal. In the late stages of this game 7 Bird also had two key steals, two free throws made, a rebound, and blocked a shot. NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. That basket won Boston the game and the series and they would go on to win the NBA championship in the Finals. Congressional Space Medal of Honor. In game 7 of the 1981 Eastern Conference finals against the rival Philadelphia 76ers, Boston was behind by one in the last minute when Bird sank a fast-break mid-range pull-up bank shot, a very difficult shot to execute under intense pressure. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.

Lyndon B. Kennedy Space Center, Florida. John F. Louis, Mississippi.

Stennis Space Center, Bay St. John C. Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, Madrid, Spain. Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, Barstow, California. White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Lyndon B. Kennedy Space Center, Florida. John F.

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. George C. Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia.

Independent Verification and Validation Facility, Fairmont, West Virginia. Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, Ohio. John H.

Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, near Pasadena, California.

Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York. Griffin (2005–). Michael D. Sean O'Keefe (2001–2005).

Goldin (1992–2001). Daniel S. Truly (1989–1992). Richard H.

Fletcher (1986–1989). James C. Beggs (1981–1985). James M.

Frosch (1977–1981). Robert A. Fletcher (1971–1977). James C.

Paine (1969–1970). Thomas O. Webb (1961–1968). James E.

Keith Glennan (1958–1961). T. WMAP. James Webb Space Telescope – ESA partnership (Planned for 2013).

Infrared Astronomical Satellite. FUSE. COBE. Other observatories