"The HST team is extremely honored to receive this prestigious award," said Preston Burch, Associate Director/Program Manager for HST. "It's a reflection of their dedication, hard work, and innovative, out-of-the-box thinking for nearly three decades."

The Laurels for Team Achievement award is for extraordinary performance and achievement by a team of scientists, engineers and managers in the field of astronautics to foster its peaceful and international use. Award presentations took place October 3 during the IAA Awards Dinner at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre in Vancouver, Canada.

Theodore Von Karmen founded the IAA in 1960 during the 11th International Astronautical Congress in Stockholm, Sweden. The organization's main focus is to foster development of astronautics for peaceful purposes, recognize individuals who distinguish themselves in a related branch of science or technology, provide a program through which members may contribute to international endeavors, and cooperate in the advancement of aerospace science.

Previous Laurels for Team Achievement awardees were: Russian Mir Space Station Team for 2001, the U.S. Space Shuttle Team for 2002 and the SOHO Team for 2003.

For information about NASA and the HST on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov