New facilities and partnerships among goals for Pelfrey as Marshall Director
On February 5, 2024, Joseph Pelfrey stepped into his role as director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Up until then, he had been acting director since July of 2023.
Pelfrey has been with NASA for two decades, holding several positions from aerospace engineer to deputy center director. He recently held a press conference to talk about his plans for the Center.
“For more than six decades, Marshall Space Flight Center has been on the forefront of leading humanity’s endeavors in space. We have been a beacon of innovation and discovery right here in Huntsville,” said Pelfrey.
“Marshall’s future is bright . . . the future built on a legacy only we could do,” added Pelfrey.
Pelfrey praised the community’s continued enthusiasm and support for Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA.
“Our partners and the community are on this journey with us,” he said.
The Center’s missions are enabled through strategic partnerships, according to Pelfrey. Going forward, Marshall will be focusing on building more of these partnerships, seeking out those that align with its mission needs.
Asked where he sees Marshall in 20 years, Pelfrey said he expects to see humans utilizing moon habitats and spacecraft developed by Marshall.
“We’ll have a vibrant workforce that is making sure all these missions can be accomplished,” Pelfrey added.
And, according to Pelfry, Marshall has a critical role in putting the first person on Mars. Marshall is focused on putting humans in deep space, including establishing a habitat on the moon and sending humans to Mars.
“The first person to walk on Mars is in our schools today,” said Pelfrey.
The Center also prioritizes community involvement. Pelfrey talked about a few of the exciting things on the horizon.
A Marshall payload, dubbed Lunar Navigation I, is currently on board the Odysseus, Intuitive Machine’s private lander that launched from Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Feb 15. Data collected will provide crucial guidance for NASA’s Artemis missions.
Marshall is also building two new facilities at its location on Redstone Arsenal. One will replace the historic building at 4200 Rideout Road that had to be demolished in 2020. The other is a 144,000-square-foot state-of-the-art engineering and science laboratory.
Pelfrey announced that the US Space and Rocket Center, in partnership with Downtown Huntsville, Inc., will bring back its family-friendly NASA in the Park event on June 22, 2024. This popular event is one way Marshall invests in the next generation.
Investing in the next generation is important to Pelfrey. As a boy, he watched replays of the Apollo missions and recorded and rewatched every space shuttle mission. These things inspired him to pursue his dream of working for NASA.
Asked about his most memorable experiences working with NASA, Pelfrey referred to his time on the International Space Station (ISS) project. This experience stands out the most because he was able to witness the entire life cycle of some of the space hardware used on the ISS.
With the projected end date for the ISS, the knowledge and experience gained from that space habitation project will be extrapolated to the Artemis project. Pelfrey said the concept review for that has already kicked off.
The Artemis missions will establish a base camp on the moon and the Gateway in the moon’s orbit. Each mission will provide knowledge and expertise in preparation for the first human mission to Mars. The tentative launch date for Artemis II is September 22, 2025. Artemis II will be the first crewed Artemis mission, flying four astronauts around the moon.
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is one of NASA’s largest field centers. Marshall is responsible for an approximately $5 billion portfolio of human spaceflight, science, and technology development projects. Since 2020 Marshall has hired 600 new NASA employees. Marshall now employs nearly 7,000 civil servants and contractors. Pelfrey said Marshall is doing well and does not anticipate layoffs. 
The Center possesses robust design, development, and testing capabilities. Marshall also manages the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. Michoud currently has components in production for the forthcoming Artemis missions including the Orion spacecraft.
Pelfrey graduated with his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University. He began his NASA career in the Science and Mission Systems Office and served in various leadership roles in the International Space Station Program, the Marshall Engineering Directorate, and the SLS Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution Office. Additionally, he served as manager for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Project at Marshall and the Exploration and Space Transportation Development Office in the Flight Programs and Partnerships Office.
After his appointment to the Senior Executive Service in 2016, Pelfrey served as associate director for operations in Engineering, and later became deputy manager and then manager for Marshall’s Human Exploration Development and Operations Office. He was appointed as Marshall’s deputy center director in April 2022.
