Virginia Space CEO, executive director to retire fall 2021

Dale Nash leaving after 8 years at the helm

Published January 13, 2021 by Sydney Lake

The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA) announced Tuesday that Dale K. Nash, Virginia Space’s CEO and executive director, will retire as early as fall 2021. Nash has led the organization since August 2012.

His successor has yet to be named.

“Dale has overseen the effective operation and incredible expansion of our launch facilities and services during his tenure and leaves a tremendous legacy,” VCSFA Board Chairman Jeff Bingham said in a statement. “His shoes will be very difficult to fill and we are grateful for his help with making the leadership transition of Virginia Space as seamless as possible in the months to come.”

During his tenure, Virginia has seen more aerospace industry growth, including classified national security missions and commercial space flight. He has also overseen improvements to and expansions of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) and oversaw the completion of more unmanned aircraft systems.

“I am very proud of the spaceport infrastructure and talented workforce that we have developed to support our customers,” Nash said in a statement. “I’m also very proud of the strong public-public-private partnerships that we have developed with NASA and the private launch providers. The future for Virginia Space and MARS is bright and expanding.”

In 2020, VCSFA celebrated its 25 years as a political subdivision in the commonwealth. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport has seen 19 successful missions and the Wallops Island Aerospace Cluster, which includes Virginia Space, NASA Wallops Flight Facility, U.S. Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, Northrop Grumman Corp. and Rocket Lab USA, generates a total economic impact of $1.37 billion for the region.