Thursday, December 4, 2025

Announcing the winners of the 2025 Icon Awards

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable.

This year's Icon Award recipients range from a company that successfully landed on the moon to an agency leader who transformed NASA's relationship with industry, making room for commercial lunar landers in the first place.

On Tuesday, Dec. 2, in Washington D.C., we awarded this year's Icon Awards during a program at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center. Read on to learn more about what made this year's class stand out.

The Winners:

Commercial Space Achievement Award

The Blue Ghost Mission 1 Team at Firefly Aerospace

For becoming the first commercial company to land on the moon with its Blue Ghost lander, validating NASA's CLPS program. Read more

Lifetime Achievement Award

Phil McAlister

For transforming NASA's relationship with private industry by guiding the Commercial Cargo and Crew Programs from concept to successful operations, laying the foundation for a thriving commercial space economy. Read more

🚀 🎧 ▶️ On this week's episode of our Space Minds podcast, tune in to hear Phil McAlister talk with David Ariosto about his nearly 20 years at NASA. Watch or listen now.

ICON SPONSOR

Individual Achievement Award

Casey Dreier, The Planetary Society

For elevating citizen awareness and influencing national space policy through the world's largest nonpartisan space advocacy organization. Read more

Emerging Space Company Award

Impulse Space

For achieving new milestones in orbital maneuvering, completing two burns within a single orbit with its
Mira spacecraft. Read more

Military Space Achievement of the Year

Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, U.S. Space Force

For leading efforts to integrate national security space programs with commercial capabilities. Read more

KEYNOTE SPONSOR

International Collaboration Award

Viasat–Space42

For expanding seamless global communications and setting a new standard for international cooperation. Read more

Space AI Breakthrough

Ubotica Technologies, NASA JPL and Open Cosmos

For deploying Dynamic Targeting — an AI system that transforms Earth observation from passive imaging to real-time planetary intelligence. Read more

Deal of the Year

SES' acquisition of Intelsat

For creating a global communications powerhouse by merging complementary GEO and MEO networks and accelerating integrated global connectivity. Read more

Civil Space Achievement of the Year

Traffic Coordination System for Space in the Office of Space Commerce

For delivering the Traffic Coordination System for Space and achieving initial operational capability just 20 months after funding began. Read more

Sustainability and Environmental Impact Award

Muon Space

For developing the FireSat constellation to detect wildfires and enabling earlier intervention to reduce emissions and ecological damage. Read more

Innovative Technology Award

NASA's Starling mission

For advancing cooperative spacecraft swarm technologies and demonstrating autonomous navigation, inter-spacecraft communication and multi-point science data collection. Read more

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

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