NASA Names Veteran Test Pilot Troy Asher Director of Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has named Troy Asher director of the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Asher, a veteran test pilot and aerospace engineer with decades of experience in flight research and operations, has led the center as acting director since March. "Troy has spent his career pushing the boundaries of flight, both at the controls of experimental aircraft and leading the teams that make these missions possible," Isaacman said in the announcement. "He understands what it takes to turn ambitious ideas into successful flight tests, and his experience will be invaluable as Armstrong leads the way in rebuilding NASA's X-plane portfolio, restoring our flight-test capabilities, and flying higher, farther, and faster than we have in decades." NASA Associate Administrator and Chief Engineer Amit Kshatriya said flight testing demands a rare combination of technical excellence, operational judgment, and trust in the teams behind every mission. He pointed to Asher's service as an Air Force test pilot and his leadership of some of NASA's most challenging flight research missions as evidence of those qualities, adding that as director Asher will help revolutionize how the agency develops, evaluates, and flies new technologies. In the role, Asher will oversee Armstrong's workforce and operations, guiding NASA's efforts to advance flight research, aircraft operations, and the development of new aviation technologies. As the agency's Flight Test and Aircraft Operations Center of Excellence, Armstrong plays a central role in rebuilding and expanding NASA's X-plane portfolio, including work on high-speed flight and experimental aircraft, while also supporting airborne science missions and flight research across the agency. Before becoming acting director, Asher served as director of Flight Operations at Armstrong, responsible for the center's pilots, engineers, maintainers, and fleet of specialized aircraft that support aeronautics research and scientific missions worldwide. He joined NASA in 2008 as a research test pilot and aerospace engineer, flying research missions aboard the F-15, F/A-18, Gulfstream III, and the X-56A unmanned aircraft system. He also served as lead test pilot during development of NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, known as SOFIA, and flew scientific research missions aboard the agency's DC-8 aircraft in support of airborne science campaigns around the globe. Asher's career predates his NASA service by more than two decades. He retired as a lieutenant colonel after 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, with assignments that included instructor at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, commander of the 419th Flight Test Squadron, and director of the Bomber Combined Test Force. In 2003, he set 25 world speed records flying the B-1B bomber. He holds a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Fresno. Asher succeeds Bradley Flick, who retired in March after nearly 40 years of NASA service. Established in 1946, Armstrong has been at the forefront of American flight research for eight decades, from the first supersonic flight aboard the Bell X-1 to today's efforts to advance quiet supersonic flight through NASA's X-59 aircraft. The center continues to push the boundaries of aviation while providing flight research and operational capabilities in support of NASA's science, technology, and exploration missions.