science

NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal

NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal rather than just read about it. In short: The NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal is a NASA award for exemplary and courageous handling of an emergency by an individual who, independent of personal danger, has acted to prevent the loss of human life or U.S. government property. The award is open to government and non-government employees.

Key takeaways

NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal is a NASA award for exemplary and courageous handling of an emergency by an individual who, independent of personal danger, has acted to prevent the loss of human life or U.S. government property. The award is open to government and non-government employees. The first 6 medals were awarded and presented May 8, 1963, by NASA Associate Director Dr. Robert Seamons to Paul J. Balfe, John A. Gordon, Larry J. Hough, Curtis C. Lyon, Charles L. Manes and Lynn B. Rowe. On November 9, 1962, NASA pilot Jack B. McKay was test flying an X-15 when it experienced engine failure. An emergency landing was made at Mud Lake, Nevada, where the aircraft flipped on its back. As part of the rescue crew, these 6 men worked to free McKay in the presence of lethal concentrations of unjettisoned anhydrous ammonia fuel, saving McKay's life. Exceptional Bravery Medals were awarded in 1969 to NASA engineers Bill B. McClure and Charles J. "Jack" Beverlin, who prevented the collapse and explosion of an Atlas rocket at great risk to their own lives. A feature on Mars was later named after them. Medals were also awarded to Herbert W. Grandy in 1970, and to Paul D. Sebesta in 1974. Subsequently, thirty eight workers at the Michoud Assembly Facility were awarded this medal for protecting the facility from flooding due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Illustrations

NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal

In research: NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Awards and decorations of NASA, Order, decoration, and medal stubs, Space program of the United States stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal in simple terms?

Why does NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NASA Exceptional Bravery Medal.