Billy Stover

Billy Stover is the Chief Safety Officer (CSO) of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), responsible for coordinating, integrating, and representing Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) technical authority. Previously, he was the deputy CSO for CCP, and prior to that, the office chief for the CCP SMA Office that supports CCP and the CSO.

As CSO, Stover works with other directorates, NASA centers, other government organizations, and commercial partners involved with CCP and human space flight to ensure the right safety and quality policies, processes, and products meet necessary requirements and risk levels to safely fly crew to and from low-Earth orbit. 

Experience

Stover previously worked in the Space Transportation Planning Office, helping develop the architecture and program structure for the 21st century space launch complex at KSC. His experience includes being the ground systems manager for the Launch Vehicle Processing Directorate responsible for developing launch site/system architectures and ensuring that the associated ground systems, equipment, and facilities were designed, constructed, and tested to support existing and new program needs for a launch complex.

He led an agencywide team in updating and rewriting the NASA standard for ground support equipment design and fabrication for all future programs. He also was the Ares I-X ground systems integrated product team integration manager and deputy responsible for concept, development, and implementation of all necessary modifications to facilities, systems, and hardware to make KSC Ares I-X capable.

Stover started working at KSC in 1987 as a systems engineer as part of the shuttle processing contract and continued in increasing roles through systems specialist and eventually engineering manager. His expertise is in ground processing, systems engineering, and program and project management. He started working for NASA in May 2004 as a Ground Projects Branch project engineer. He was the KSC Shuttle Processing Directorate lead of the STS-114 Return to Flight design certification review team and was a certified member of the prime space shuttle launch team.

Awards

Stover has received numerous professional awards, including NASA Honor Awards — the Outstanding Leadership Medal and Space Flight Awareness Award — Silver Snoopy, Certified Professional Manager, NASA Group Achievement Awards, NASA Public Service Award, NASA Certificate of Commendations, and the Andy Petro Engineering Excellence Award.

Biography last updated April 2022