Stephen DeFeo receives Aerodyne’s President’s Award

(L to R):  Manager Marianne Rigolini, Teammate Principal Neil Mizell, Stephen DeFeo, and Sr. Vice President Ralph Rohloff.

Stephen DeFeo, Systems/Network Administrator for COMET, was awarded Aerodyne’s President’s Award at the Illuminations Award Banquet held March 29, 2025, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, FL.

The President’s Award is given annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to the success of the company. 

A 40-year veteran of Kennedy Space Center (including ten years with Aerodyne), Stephen is a Senior Systems/Network Administrator responsible for managing the network equipment, multiple servers, and applications for COMET and Aerodyne.

Stephen has repeatedly gone above and beyond the scope of his duties.  His dedication as a team member is commendable, always ready to embrace additional tasks and responsibilities to ensure his team’s ability to deliver outstanding support.  His talent to communicate effectively with both technical and nontechnical staff have been instrumental in resolving issues quickly and efficiently.  

Steve’s daily system administrator responsibilities include:  GFAST VMware, Portal Workstation (PWS), F5 load balancer, two factor authentication, Microsoft terminal server, system certificates, managing COMET switches, router, and firewalls at different locations on KSC.  Most Information technology (IT) teams would require multiple people to handle the vast amount and complexity of the tools Steve supports.

In addition to the server/infrastructure, Steve is the application administrator for Maximo, VersionOne, ClearQuest, and Jama.  

Since Steve joined the team a decade ago, he has absorbed the work of two key individuals who are no longer on contract.  He immediately became the subject matter expert of both the PWS configuration, and the Configuration Management tools used by Command & Control. 

An outstanding mentor for new hires, Steve is patient, easy to work with, and always willing to assist others.  His dedication and diligence have not only improved efficiency, they have created a positive and collaborative work environment. 

Not only is he a key member of COMET IT Team, but he is one of the architects for the Aerodyne corporate office and provides outstanding support.  

“I work with an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people,” said Stephen.  “I’m honored to receive this award.”

Aerodyne’s President’s Award recipients for COMET (formerly TOSC):

Stephen DeFeo (2024)

Sean Guertin (2023)

Kathleen Saint (2022)

Tom Alfaro (2021)

Sara Karimi (2020)

Derek Hardin (2019)

Joseph Jones (2018)

Randy Stalnaker (2017)

Paul Espy (2016)

Marianne Rigolini (2015)

Jodi Sills (2014)

Neil Mizell (2013)