Michael Griffin presents a special distinguished service medal to John J. ``Tip'' Talone Jr. for exceptional service and unparalleled dedication to NASA and America's human space flight program.

Inside the Launch Control Center Firing Room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin (right) presents a special distinguished service medal to John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. for exceptional service and unparalleled dedication to NASA and America's human space flight program. Currently, John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. serves as the director of the Kennedy Space Center Constellation Project Office of the NASA Constellation Program. From 1996 to 2005, he was director of the International Space Station Hardware Integration Office, which became the ISS/Payloads Processing Directorate in May 2000. The presentation followed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-122, which lifted off at 2:45 p.m. EST. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett