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Release: 00-184

NASA Marshall Center names managers within Space Transportation Directorate

Mike Allen has been named deputy manager of the Technology Evaluation Department at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Mark Fisher has been chosen to head the X-34 project, replacing Allen.

Both positions are within Marshall’s Space Transportation Directorate.

In his new position, Allen is responsible for day to day activities at Marshall’s propulsion test area.His 14-year career at Marshall includes serving as both deputy project manager and project manager for the X-34 rocket plane test vehicle, and working in the Space Shuttle Main Engine and Solid Rocket Booster project offices.

Allen also has represented Marshall’s Space Shuttle Program Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., supporting the associate administrator for space flight.

Fisher’s new responsibilities include overseeing development and testing of the X-34 reusable, sub-orbital test vehicle — designed to demonstrate key technologies to help lower the cost of putting a payload into space from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. He also will oversee development and testing of the Fastrac Engine, which will power the X-34.

Fisher began his NASA career in 1990 in the Marshall Center’s Propulsion Laboratory. He most recently led the Vehicle Subsystem Engineering Group, responsible for vehicle engineering of all flight projects in Marshall’s Space Transportation Directorate.

Marshall is NASA's Lead Center for developing the nation's future reusable space transportation systems and Center of Excellence for space propulsion.

Marshall’s Space Transportation Directorate plans, directs, and executes research, technology maturation, advanced design and development, and sustaining engineering for NASA's space transportation systems. That includes expendable and reusable launch vehicles, heavy lift vehicles, upper stages, in-space transportation systems, and other associated transportation systems and subsystems.