3 min read<\/p>\n
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Roger Baird has been selected as associate director of NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.<\/p>\n
In this role, Baird will lead execution and integration of the center\u2019s business operations, mission support enterprise functions, and budget management. In addition, he will be a senior adviser in advancing the direction of the center\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Baird will also help manage the center\u2019s 7,000 civil service and contract employees and help oversee an annual budget of approximately $5 billion. He will provide executive leadership across Marshall\u2019s mission support areas as well as the center\u2019s diverse portfolio of human spaceflight, science, and technology efforts, which touch nearly every mission NASA pursues.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/baird-photo-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\u201cI know Roger will make an excellent addition to Marshall\u2019s leadership team,\u201d said Center Director Joseph Pelfrey. \u201cHis dedication to NASA\u2019s missions has helped shape Marshall into a powerful technical solutions provider for the agency and our industry partners. Roger\u2019s leadership will be invaluable in this new era of space exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baird previously served as associate director for operations of Marshall\u2019s Engineering Directorate from 2020-2024, after being detailed to the position in 2019. Named to the Senior Executive Service position in March 2020, he provided senior management and leadership expertise for the evaluation of spacecraft, payloads and launch vehicle systems, and the integration of the associated budgets and resources authority for these efforts. He was responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating engineering project management and integration activities in support of Marshall\u2019s programs and projects, and oversaw an annual budget of approximately $550 million, including management of a highly technical workforce of more than 2,500 civil service and contractor employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2018, Baird was selected as manager of the Engineering Resource Management Office, where he was responsible for advising, coordinating, monitoring, directing and performing work associated with planning, programming, budgeting and managing the Engineering Directorate\u2019s financial, human and infrastructure resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baird brings a wealth of expertise to the role, with 34 years of NASA experience in the areas of engineering design, development, testing, facility and budget management, and strategic workforce acquisition and development.\u00a0He joined NASA in 1990 as an avionics engineer in Marshall\u2019s Astrionics Laboratory and served in multiple technical leadership positions within the Engineering Directorate\u2019s Space Systems Department, Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Department, and Propulsion Systems Department.<\/p>\n
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Baird earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Learn more about Marshall\u2019s work to support the nation\u2019s mission in space at:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/marshall<\/a><\/p>\n Lance D. Davis<\/strong> Hannah Maginot<\/strong> \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-640-9065
lance.d.davis @nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-932-1937
hannah.l.maginot @nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nAbout the Author<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\nBeth Ridgeway<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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