Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Huntsville, Alabama, designs, develops and builds engines, vehicles, space systems, offering its one-of-a-kind expertise and capabilities in science and engineering to further space exploration and discovery.  Marshall also develops, integrates, operates, and supports major components and systems for the International Space Station (ISS), as well as managing all science work done on-board the ISS from the Payload Operations Integration Center.[1]

The heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) is in development at Marshall. This system is the only rocket with the capacity to send humans to Mars and the Moon. The Space Launch System is referred to as the “backbone of NASA’s exploration plans.” Critical elements of the SLS and Orion are under development at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, a NASA-owned facility managed by MSFC.[2]

  • Chandra X-Ray Observatory, makes it possible for scientists to procure X-ray images of exotic environments. This is helpful in understanding the evolution and structure of the universe. The Chandra X-ray Observatory is superior to previous X-ray telescopes in that it can identify sources more than 20x fainter and has eight-times greater resolution. It is the most powerful X-ray telescope in the world.
  • Hinode, investigates the interaction between the sun’s magnetic field and its corona.[3]
  • New Frontiers, carries out unmanned spacecraft missions to explore the solar system.[4]
  • SERVIR, assists developing countries use information from Earth geospatial technologies and observing satellites in partnership with leading regional organizations across the world. The challenges of water resources, food security, disasters, and land use change are managed by SERVIR’s hubs in South America, Central America, the Lower Mekong, Hindu Kush-Himalaya, West Africa, Eastern, and Southern Africa.
  • Solar System Exploration, a new Marshall managed program focused on planetary science objectives such as instrumentation for the European Space Agency JUICE mission.
  • Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SpoRT), provides real-time data and products to the National Weather Service in an effort to improve forecasting and to help save lives.[5]
  • Space Launch System, or SLS introduces a new era of deep space exploration in the form of an advanced launch vehicle. It is the most powerful rocket in the world and will launch astronauts on missions in the Orion spacecraft to an asteroid and Mars. Other possibilities for the SLS include robotic scientific missions to Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars.[6]

Information on doing business with Marshall Space Flight Center can be found here.

Leadership

  • Jody Singeris the director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
  • Joseph Pelfrey is the deputy center director of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
  • Rae Ann Myer, associate director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama
  • Larry Leopard, associate director, technical of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Updated by Jackie Johnson October 2022