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May 22, 2003/Satnews Daily/ — NASA Associate Administrator of Space Flight William F. Readdy has reassigned Arthur G. Stephenson, Center Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala., effective June 15. Stephenson decided to step down from his current position and move to an important role in promoting NASA's Education efforts until his retirement in January 2004.

Stephenson will serve as Special Assistant to Dr. Adena Loston, the Associate Administrator for Education at NASA Headquarters, Washington, and will be based at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville. The NSSTC is a partnership between MSFC, Alabama universities, federal agencies, and industry. NSSTC is a laboratory for cutting-edge research in selected scientific and engineering disciplines.

"The job of Center Director at Marshall is without a doubt the best job I have had in my career. The people at Marshall and Huntsville are my family, but after five years, I felt it was time to consider new challenges," Stephenson said. 

Stephenson was named Marshall's center director in 1998, where he directed work on critical NASA initiatives such as development of new reusable launch vehicles, Space Shuttle propulsion, advanced space transportation systems, research in microgravity, and science payload operations aboard the International Space Station, as well as the launch and continuing successful operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the world's most powerful X-ray telescope.

Stephenson came to NASA with more than 35 years experience in the space industry. His career started in 1964 with TRW, working on the design of test equipment for the Lunar Module Abort Guidance System in the Apollo program. During the next 27 years, he took on even greater roles in the nation's space exploration efforts. He led the development of the Pioneer Jupiter Spacecraft Receiver, the first spacecraft to exit our solar system, and the development of the Space Shuttle Orbiter S-band Network Transponder still in use today.

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