Sharif Abdel-Magid

Sharif Abdel-Magid manages SSA’s current and future space operations in and beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) with the goal of making the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a top nation in Space. The Space Operations Sector at SSA operates and maintains exploration systems; develops and operates space transportation systems and supports broad scientific research on orbit. Previously, Sharif Abdel-Magid was a NASA test director in Exploration Ground Systems at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In this role, he is responsible for planning, integrating, scheduling, and conducting operations associated with the functions of the organization. This includes integrated verification and validation, multi-element verification and validation, integrated flight hardware testing, and launch and recovery operations. Before joining NASA in 2018, Abdel-Magid was a test conductor on the Engineering Services Contract for five-plus years, supporting NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Program at Kennedy’s Launch Equipment Test Facility. From Oct. 2007 to Aug. 2012, he served as a senior consultant at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (then Cape Canaveral Air Force Station) as the lead engineer for systems engineering. In 2010, Abdel-Magid earned a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne. He also earned a master’s degree in space systems management from FIT in 2015. In 2016, Abdel-Magid received a Space Flight Awareness Award for pneumatics testing for the SLS mobile launcher. He also earned multiple American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) honors, including a Cape Canaveral Outstanding Member Award, first place in team design in AIAA’s regional competition, and first place in team design at the AIAA International Conference. He organized several successful symposia and lectures (for AIAA) related to the space program with many distinguished speakers including past astronauts such as the Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke and the six-time space shuttle astronaut and physician Story Musgrave. Abdel-Magid is a first-generation Egyptian American. He was born in Delaware county, PA on May 21, 1988 and raised in Montgomery county, PA (both are Philadelphia suburbs), He moved to Florida in 2006 and currently resides in Melbourne, FL. During his years at Hatboro-Horsham High School, Horsham, PA, he was a member of the soccer team a member of the track and field team and a member of the robotics team. He enjoys reading and learning about NASA’s space exploration history, he likes traveling the USA and the world and he is a car enthusiast.