Photo Credit: Dominique DC Photo

On July 20, the first annual Astronaut Rock Star Awards were presented at O.A.R.’s Leader Bank Pavilion concert in Boston. The date also served as the historic 55th anniversary of man’s first walk on the moon, delineating the meaningful relationship between astronauts and music. During Saturday’s ceremony, astronauts Jack D. Fischer and Alan B. Shepard, Jr. were honored.

The awards were announced earlier this year by the uniphi space agency, a women-owned and led uniphigood LLC, in conjunction with National Astronauts Day, May 5. This yearly event honors astronauts for their bravery and achievements while commemorating the date Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became the first American in space while taking flight on the Freedom 7 space capsule during the inaugural May 5, 1961 mission.

“Since the very first National Astronaut Day, music has been a key part of the way we honor and celebrate Astronauts, and we are so grateful to have our friends, the incredible O.A.R., on this journey with us to kick things off and help give the Platinum Award as part of their 2024 Summer Tour. The fact that it’s actually on such an iconic date (July 20) and their tour art is an Astronaut it’s meant to be,” uniphi Founder, President & CEO Annie Balliro said. 

During the award ceremony, rock favorites O.A.R. presented Fischer’s prize. Notably, Fischer, a former NASA Astronaut and Intuitive Machines executive, supervised the Odysseus (“Odie”) lunar landing as part of the IM-1 mission in 2024. The expedition marked the United States’ first return to the moon since Apollo 1 and the first private lunar lander. 

“This has been such a fantastic year and it’s so cool to be recognized for contributing to space exploration. I may be the Astronaut at IM, but putting Odie on the Moon was a team effort. We’re just a small private company of dreamers who worked hard to achieve something incredible…and this is just the beginning,” offered Fischer. 

O.A.R. bassist Benj Gershman added, “It is an absolute privilege to partner with the Astronaut Rock Star Awards to show our respect, admiration and appreciation for these heroes! They are connecting us with the cosmos in new ways more often than ever, and our fascination with their work is as immense as their contributions to science, technology, education and humanity.” 

Scroll down to view photos from the event provided by Dominique DC Photo. Stream O.A.R.’s Boston concert via Veeps.com.