At a farewell party in his honor, it was announced that Asteroid 1989 EL1 was renamed Asteroid "5515 Naderi" for his contribution to space exploration.[1] The asteroid was discovered by the late American astronomer, Eleanor F. Helin, at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, on March 5, 1989, and is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter. It rotates about itself every 5.2 hours and orbits the Sun every 4.4 years. "Fortunately, it is not an Earth-crosser," says Naderi.