NASA Names New Marshall Director

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has appointed Stephen Cash as director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, effective Oct. 19. Cash, a former NASA engineer and aerospace executive, is returning to the center where he began his career more than four decades ago.

Cash will oversee more than 5,000 civil service and contractor employees involved in propulsion, space systems, scientific research and technology development. Marshall plays a key role in NASA’s Artemis program, including development of the Space Launch System rocket and management of the Human Landing System Program.

He also will lead the center’s work on advanced propulsion and nuclear power technologies, which NASA considers important to future lunar missions and eventual human missions to Mars. Cash previously managed Marshall’s Space Shuttle Propulsion Office and served as director of its Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate before retiring from NASA in 2016.

Cash succeeds Rae Ann Meyer, who has served as acting center director since September 2025. Meyer will return to her position as deputy center director. After leaving NASA, Cash worked in the aerospace industry, including as vice president for advanced space systems at Axient. He was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2024.