NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman named Stephen Cash director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, effective Monday, Oct. 19, according to an agency release published Oct. 16. Cash, a veteran NASA engineer and aerospace executive, returns to lead the center where he began his career in 1982.

Cash spent 34 years with NASA, managing Marshall's Space Shuttle Propulsion Office and directing its Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate from 2011 until his retirement in 2016. He later worked at Axient as vice president for advanced space systems and was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2024. He succeeds Rae Ann Meyer, who had served as acting center director since September 2025 and will return to her role as deputy center director.

As director, Cash will oversee a workforce of more than 5,000 civil service and contractor employees. Marshall supports the Artemis program, including development of the SLS rocket and management of the Human Landing System Program, and works on nuclear power and propulsion. Isaacman cited Cash's experience as the center takes on work in advanced propulsion and nuclear power.