NASA Names UA Alum Stephen Cash As Director Of Marshall Space Flight Center

TUSCALOOSA, AL — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has named veteran engineer and aerospace executive Stephen Cash director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, effective Monday, Oct. 19.

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The University of Alabama alumnus returns to the center where he began his NASA career in 1982, bringing more than four decades of aerospace experience to one of the agency's largest facilities.

UA says this makes Cash the fourth of 16 total Marshall Space Flight Center directors to graduate from the Capstone.

“Steve Cash is a Marshall legend, has spent his career around the hardware, the people and has been in the seat before making the decisions when human spaceflight is on the line,” Isaacman said.

As director, NASA says Cash will oversee more than 5,000 civil service and contractor employees working on propulsion systems, scientific research and technology development.

Marshall is described as playing a central role in NASA's Artemis program, including development of the Space Launch System rocket and management of the Human Landing System Program.

The center is also involved in advancing nuclear power and propulsion technologies for future missions to Mars.

Cash spent 34 years with NASA, including serving as manager of Marshall's Space Shuttle Propulsion Office and director of its Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate before retiring in 2016.

He later served as vice president for advanced space systems at Axient and was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2024.

“It is a profound honor to be back home at the Marshall Space Flight Center,” Cash said. “I am humbled to stand alongside the brilliant minds here as we continue to turn the impossible into everyday history.”

Cash succeeds Rae Ann Meyer, who has served as acting center director since September 2025. Meyer will return to her previous role as deputy center director.

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