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May 28, 2003/Satnews Daily/ — NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William F. Readdy has named David A. King as the new center director for the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. King is currently Marshall's deputy director and will succeed Arthur G. Stephenson when Stephenson steps down June 15.

King, whose NASA career began in 1983, has held the number two position at Marshall since November 2002. In that capacity, he assisted the center director in managing a broad range of propulsion, space science and materials research and development work contributing to the nation's space program.

"Dave's closeness to the people and programs at Marshall make him a natural selection," Readdy said. "His ability to make critical decisions under challenging circumstances, comprehensive knowledge of Space Shuttle systems, and his demonstrated leadership qualities are vital as we move forward with our 'Return to Flight' efforts."

King has also played a key role in NASA's Shuttle recovery operations in Lufkin, Texas, beginning earlier this year. He was dispatched to Lufkin within hours of the accident and immediately began serving as the senior on-site NASA official, directing efforts to search for clues and recover debris from the Feb. 1 accident.

He was instrumental in creating the critical initial work processes; establishing effective working relationships among numerous federal and state government agencies; and laying the foundation for the two subsequent NASA officials who would share responsibility for leading an effective recovery from the mishap.

Prior to serving as deputy director at Marshall, King was director of Shuttle processing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., where he managed and coordinated all Space Shuttle processing and launch operations, overseeing the work of approximately 5,400 civil service and contractor employees.

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