May 23 2003
From The Space Library
NASA announced the appointment of David A. King as the new Director of NASA's MSFC in Huntsville, Alabama, effective 15 June. NASA would reassign Director of MSFC Arthur G. Stephenson, in preparation for his planned January 2004 retirement from NASA. King had been MSFC's Deputy Director since November 2002, assisting Stephenson in managing a range of propulsion, space science, and materials research, as well as development work. NASA had also dispatched King to Lufkin, Texas, within hours of the Columbia disaster, to serve as the senior on-site NASA official in the search-and-recovery effort. In that capacity, he had created critical, initial work processes; established effective working relationships among federal and state government agencies; and set the foundation for the two subsequent NASA officials who would share responsibility for leading effective recovery efforts. Before serving as Deputy Director of MSFC, King had been Deputy Director of Shuttle Processing, Launch Director of six Shuttle missions, and Director of Shuttle Processing at NASA's KSC. As Director of Shuttle Processing at KSC, he had managed and coordinated all Space Shuttle processing, launch, and landing operations and had made the final determination to launch during the three-day countdown process. (NASA, “David A. King Named Marshall Space Flight Center Director,” news release 03-181, 23 May 2003, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/may/03181_king_MSFC_director.html (accessed 20 November 2008); Patty Reinert, “Marshall Space Flight Center Chief Will Leave Post in January,” Houston Chronicle, 21 May 2003.
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