KinetX Aerospace Receives National Recognition for OSIRIS-REx Navigation Excellence

Arizona-Based Firm Honored with Collier, Goddard, and Collins Trophies for Role in Historic NASA Asteroid Mission

TEMPE, AZ, UNITED STATES, July 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- KinetX Aerospace, Inc., the first private company to provide interplanetary navigation for NASA, has been honored with three of the aerospace industry’s most prestigious awards as a key member of the OSIRIS-REx mission team.

The mission team, including NASA, Lockheed Martin, the University of Arizona, and KinetX Aerospace, has been recognized for the successful navigation, collection, and return of asteroid samples from Bennu, a groundbreaking achievement in space science and exploration. KinetX provided critical navigation support for the spacecraft, which traveled over 4 billion miles to rendezvous with Bennu, collect samples, and return them safely to Earth in one of NASA’s most complex sample-return operations to date.

KinetX’s contributions have been recognized through the following national honors:

The 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association for the most significant achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in the U.S.

The 2024 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, awarded by the National Space Club for outstanding impact on space activities.

The 2025 Michael Collins Trophy, presented by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for excellence in air and space technology.

The Michael Collins Trophy ceremony was held beneath the Space Shuttle Discovery at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. KinetX team members in attendance included Peter Antreasian, Flight Director and Chief of Navigation, and Coralie Adam, Optical Navigation Group Lead and TAG Navigation Manager. KinetX was also represented at the Collier Trophy ceremony in Washington, D.C., where Coralie Adam joined other mission collaborators in receiving the honor.

“It is an incredible honor to be part of the OSIRIS-REx team receiving these awards,” said Peter Antreasian. “To have our small company recognized alongside NASA, Lockheed Martin, and the University of Arizona is both humbling and inspiring. Being named among legends like the Wright brothers and the Apollo 11 crew is a career-defining moment for all of us at KinetX.”

Navigating a spacecraft to an asteroid barely 500 meters wide, across billions of miles, requires unprecedented precision.

“The asteroid's small size and low gravity demanded a level of navigation accuracy surpassing even prior missions like Galileo, Cassini, and Mars Odyssey,” added Antreasian. “OSIRIS-REx was the most challenging mission I’ve ever worked on.”

KinetX’s navigation work continues as part of the OSIRIS-APophis Explorer (OSIRIS-APEX) mission, guiding the spacecraft to its next target: the 300-meter asteroid Apophis. The mission includes three additional Earth gravity assists, with the next one occurring on September 23, 2025, ahead of Apophis’s close approach to Earth in April 2029.

Tony Yarkosky
KinetX Inc
+1 480-455-4478
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