Patricia Stratton, who serves as Deputy Associate Program Manager (APM) of Ground Operations for United Space Alliance, was honored recently by Women in Aerospace with the prestigious Leadership Award.

NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale presented the award to Stratton at a Washington, D.C. ceremony attended by aerospace leaders from government and industry. Stratton was one of five women recognized by WIA for their contributions to advancing the role of women in the aerospace industry. Stratton received the leadership award for both her accomplishments in the workplace and her active involvement in local business and community outreach efforts. WIA is a non-profit organization aimed at expanding women's opportunities for leadership in the aerospace community.

"Working for the space program is an amazing and rewarding challenge, and it has been a pleasure to share my passion with and to encourage young women in this business. Whether you aspire to be an astronaut in space or a technician or engineer working on a vehicle, there are plenty of opportunities for women in this exciting field," Stratton said.

As Deputy APM, Stratton is responsible for more than 3,800 employees at Kennedy Space Center who process the space shuttle components for launch, and who provide ground support equipment and facilities support to the Space Shuttle Program. Stratton is the first female to serve in this role. In addition to this responsibility, Stratton serves as the USA KSC point of contact for Constellation Program issues.

Throughout her 24-year career in aerospace, Stratton has impressed those around her with her ability to take on large, complex projects, and complete them in a manner that exceeds expectations.

USA CEO Mike McCulley praised the WIA's recognition of Stratton, stating, "Patty is in the top tier of people who have helped to make the Space Shuttle Program and the Space Flight Operations Contract a success. She is adept at getting to the hard issues and finding solutions. Her value to our efforts is immeasurable and I applaud WIA for recognizing this impressive member of the USA team."

United Space Alliance is a leader in space operations offering extensive experience in space launch and recovery operations; mission planning and control; flight hardware processing; space flight training; on-orbit assembly, payload deployment and servicing; rendezvous/proximity operations and docking; large-scale integration and sustaining engineering. United Space Alliance serves as NASA's prime contractor for the Space Shuttle and provides operations services for the International Space Station. United Space Alliance employs more than 10,000 people in Texas, Florida, and Alabama.