A familiar face is returning to lead NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where his career began more than four decades ago.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has named Stephen Cash director of the Huntsville center, effective Monday, Oct. 19.
Cash, a veteran NASA engineer and aerospace executive, spent 34 years with the agency before retiring in 2016. He now returns to oversee one of NASA’s largest field centers, with more than 5,000 civil service and contractor employees.
“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 began his NASA career at Marshall in 1982, eventually holding senior engineering and management positions supporting some of the nation’s most significant human spaceflight programs.
He served as manager of Marshall’s Space Shuttle Propulsion Office, overseeing propulsion systems through the shuttle program’s final missions. From 2011 until his retirement in 2016, he led Marshall’s Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate, responsible for safety, reliability and quality engineering.
Following his NASA career, Cash continued working in the aerospace industry, including serving as vice president for advanced space systems at Axient. He was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2024.
Isaacman pointed to Cash’s experience with both the technical and human sides of space exploration.
“Marshall contributions to NASA’s missions are historic and it’s no question why it’s the Center of Excellence for propulsion,” Isaacman said. “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.”
Cash takes the helm as Marshall continues its 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 advanced propulsion, nuclear power and technologies supporting future missions to Mars.
“As Marshall continues its critical role in Artemis and takes on new challenges in advanced propulsion, nuclear power, and the systems that will carry us deeper into the solar system, Steve brings the experience, technical judgment, and mission focus needed to lead the center into that next chapter,” Isaacman said.
NASA Associate Administrator and Chief Engineer Amit Kshatriya said Cash’s leadership will be particularly important in maintaining Marshall’s engineering capabilities and developing its workforce.
“Steve understands that the jewel of Marshall is its workforce and that engineering excellence is sustained by giving talented people the opportunity to design, build, test, and learn through hands-on work,” Kshatriya said.
Cash succeeds Rae Ann Meyer, who has served as acting center director since September 2025.
Meyer, previously Marshall’s deputy center director and associate director, will return to her role as deputy center director.
Isaacman thanked Meyer for her leadership during the transition and her continued service to NASA.
Established in 1960, Marshall has played a central role in American space exploration, from developing the Saturn rockets that carried astronauts to the Moon to supporting the next generation of human spaceflight.
Cash’s appointment brings that history full circle, placing a longtime Marshall engineer back at the center where he began his career in 1982.
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