David A. King, a 1979 graduate of Sumter High School in Sumter, SC, and a current resident of Merritt Island, FL, was recently selected to the position of deputy director of Shuttle Processing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
King earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, in 1983, and a masters of business administration from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1991. He began his career with NASA in 1983 as a main propulsion engineer and most recently served as the flow director for the Space Shuttle Discovery and as the acting deputy director of the Installation Operations Directorate. He was a 1994 recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.
In his new position as one of KSC’s senior executives, he assists the director in the management and oversight of all activities involving Space Shuttle processing and launch operations at the Kennedy Space Center. This includes primary responsibility for managing the current transition of day-to-day operations for Shuttle processing to a single prime contractor. Upon completion of this process, he will assist the Director of Shuttle Processing in the management of that major agency contract. The Shuttle Processing Directorate is currently responsible for a workforce of approximately 7,400 civil service and contractor employees.
In his spare time, King is active in church activities, plays golf and enjoys spending time with his children. He is the son of C. Leon and Angeline P. King of Sumter. He and his wife, the former Lisa Bashaw of Columbus, OH, are the parents of two daughters, Bethany and Katelyn.