Space Foundation Inducts Emisshield Incorporated Into Space Technology Hall of Fame
Colorado Springs, Colorado: The Space Community Celebrated Space Innovation at a special awards ceremony on August 26, 2021, to induct two innovative technologies into the Space Technology Hall of Fame. Space Foundation’s 36th Space Symposium, held at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, honored the 2021 inductees, Dr. John Olver, President and CEO of Emisshield, Incorporated (a Blacksburg, Virginia company) and Paul Fisher, founder of Fisher Space Pens (posthumously) whose son, Carey Fisher, President and CEO of Fisher Space Pens accepted on his behalf.
In addition, Emisshield, Incorporated and NASA Ames Research Center Entry Systems and Technology Division received the Organization Award. Carol Caroll, Deputy Center Director, NASA Ames Research Center accepted the award for Ames. Both Olver (Civil Engineering 75’) and Caroll (Mechanical Engineering 83’) are graduates of Virginia Tech. Olver is the 85th individual Inductee into the Space Technology Hall of Fame.
Emisshield manufactures and sells heat protective coatings throughout the world. The technology behind the coating was invented at NASA’s Ames Research Center in the early 1990s as a protective coating for use on spacecraft and licensed to Emisshield, Inc. in 1996. Both Emisshield, Inc. and Fisher Space Pens met the Space Foundation’s judging criteria; “adapting space technologies into commercial products that improve our quality of life on Earth.” In recognizing the new honorees, Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor shared, “This year’s inductees truly represent the spirit of the Space Technology Hall of Fame. Both produce products that had their beginnings in space exploration and are now found in homes, businesses, and communities around the world. Congratulations to these visionary leaders who had the foresight to develop and market these tools so we can utilize them on earth.”
Upon acceptance, Dr. Olver said, “This is a prestigious award, and I am honored to have received it.”
Space Foundation, a nonprofit advocate organization founded in 1983 for the global space ecosystem, began the Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1988. It recognizes the life-changing technologies emerging from global space programs, honors the scientists, engineers, and innovators responsible, and communicates to the public the importance of these technologies as a return on investment in space exploration.
Photo Courtesy of Space Foundation: Left to Right, CAPT Frank L. Culbertson, Jr., USN (Ret.), former NASA astronaut, Carol Caroll, Deputy Center Director, NASA Ames SFC, Dr. John Olver, President & CEO Emisshield, Inc., Rear Admiral Tom Zelibor, Space Foundation CEO
