Veteran NASA manager and engineer Mark K. Craig has been named to the new position of Associate Director for Space Development and Commerce at the Johnson Space Center.

In his 35-year career with NASA, Craig most recently served as Acting Center Director of the John C. Stennis Space Center. In his new position at JSC, he will better focus human space flight's value to America in science, education, inspiration, technology, and space commerce.

"The exploration and development of space are rapidly evolving, and Mark's depth of experience will focus JSC's efforts to evaluate and promote the use of space and the development of space activities," said JSC Director Jefferson D. Howell, Jr. "Mark has contributed to JSC for much of his career, and we welcome him back."

A graduate of Purdue University, Craig began his career at JSC in 1967 as a co-op student. He pursued engineering post-graduate study at Rice University, and completed MIT's Program for Senior Executives in 1992. As an aerospace engineer at JSC, he worked on the Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz, Space Shuttle and Space Station programs. He has held a range of management positions at JSC and NASA HQ, including Space Shuttle subsystem manager, Space Station system engineering and integration manager, Mars Rover Sample Return deputy project manager, and Space Exploration Initiative director. In these assignments he has worked extensively with all NASA centers, the White House, Congress, foreign governments, the scientific community and other federal agencies. Craig was on the start-up teams for the Space Shuttle in 1969, the Space Station in 1983 and the Space Exploration Initiative in 1989.

Prior to his work at Stennis, Craig served on the NASA administrator's staff at NASA HQ and was the principal architect of the NASA Strategic Plan. He became deputy director of Stennis in 1995 and acting director there in 2001.

Craig began his duties at JSC on Monday, Oct. 7, 2002.

text-only version of this release