King Retires As Director Of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.22.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.16.24

Airborne-FlightTraining-04.17.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-04.18.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.19.24

Join Us At 0900ET, Friday, 4/10, for the LIVE Morning Brief.
Watch It LIVE at
www.airborne-live.net

Fri, Mar 27, 2009

King Retires As Director Of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Robert Lightfoot Will Serve As Acting Director For Now

David King, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL is retiring from the agency to accept a position as executive vice president of Dynetics in Huntsville, effective immediately. Robert M. Lightfoot, Marshall's deputy center director, will serve as acting director until a successor is named.

King has been the center director at Marshall since June 2003. His departure ends a 25-year career with NASA that began in 1983 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he served as director of space shuttle processing and shuttle launch director.

"David's expertise and dedication will be sorely missed, not only at Marshall, but across the entire agency," NASA Acting Administrator Chris Scolese said. "As sad as we are to see him leave, we wish him the very best in all of his future endeavors."

King described his decision to leave NASA as one of the toughest of his professional career. "The opportunities NASA has given me are something most people only dream about," King said. "It was a privilege to work with some of the smartest people in the world for 25 years. I will miss them greatly."

King's acting successor, Lightfoot, has served as Marshall's deputy director since May 2007. A native of Montevallo, AL, he has shared responsibility for managing Marshall, one of NASA's largest field centers. The center has more than 8,400 civil service and contract employees performing a wide scope of propulsion, scientific and space transportation activities.

"Robert's experience and leadership skills are exactly what we need to lead Marshall at this critical time," Scolese said. "I'm certain he will do a terrific job in this role as he has in all of his previous positions at NASA."

From 2005 to 2007, Lightfoot served as manager of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at Marshall, leading the organization with responsibility for the manufacture, assembly and operation of the primary shuttle propulsion elements: the main engines, external fuel tank, solid rocket boosters and reusable solid rocket motors. For the two years prior to that, Lightfoot was assistant associate administrator for the Space Shuttle Program in the Office of Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

"Robert is a tremendous leader and one of NASA's best," King said. "I leave with full confidence that Marshall will be in great hands."

FMI: www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall

Advertisement

More News

SpaceX to Launch Inversion RAY Reentry Vehicle in Fall

Inversion to Launch Reentry Vehicle Demonstrator Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 This fall, the aerospace startup Inversion is set to launch its Ray reentry demonstrator capsule aboard Spac>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.23.24)

"We are excited to accelerate the adoption of electric aviation technology and further our journey towards a sustainable future. The agreement with magniX underscores our commitmen>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.20.24)

"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.20.24)

Aero Linx: OX5 Aviation Pioneers Each year a national reunion of OX5 Aviation Pioneers is hosted by one of the Wings in the organization. The reunions attract much attention as man>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.21.24)

"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC