NASA’s new space launch system manager in Huntsville is going to help get humans to Mars

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — NASA has named John Honeycutt as manager for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) Program, the Huntsville-based program that will eventually take astronauts to Mars.

The SLS program is centered around being being the most powerful rocket ever built, having the ability to carry astronauts on deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars. John Honeycutt will lead this SLS program that is currently under development at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

“John is an accomplished manager, and I’m pleased he is assuming this new leadership role in the development of SLS as we continue taking great steps forward in the continuous human exploration of space and on our journey to Mars,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

Honeycutt succeeds Todd May, who was named deputy director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. While May was program manager of SLS, Honeycutt served as the SLS program’s deputy manager. Since November 2013, Honeycutt helped lead the SLS program through “a series of milestones,” including engine tests and in-depth element and system critical design reviews.

“NASA has benefited from John’s management and leadership skills in a number of programs at Marshall over the years, and I’m pleased he’ll be responsible for the continuing success of SLS, the next great vehicle to launch our human exploration space missions,” said Marshall Center Director Patrick Scheuermann.

Honeycutt earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and has received numerous awards, including a NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, Management Space Flight Awareness Award, the Silver Snoopy Award and a Center Director’s Commendation. Honeycutt worked for nine years as a contractor in support of the Space Shuttle Program, the International Space Station (ISS) and other NASA programs before he began his NASA career at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1999. At Marshall, he has served as deputy manager and manager of the Space Shuttle External Tank Project, deputy manager of the SLS Program Stages Office and SLS deputy chief engineer.

Now as SLS program manager, Honeycutt will be responsible for more than 4,200 employees nationwide while working for a program with a budget of $1.7 billion annually. He is responsible for all areas of the program, including planning, procurement, development, testing, evaluation, production and operation of the integrated SLS.

For more about NASA’s Space Launch System, visit www.nasa.gov/sls.

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