NASA.GOV Is Totally Offline - Almost

By Keith Cowing on October 1, 2013 10:41 AM.

Keith's note: All websites hosted at NASA.gov addresses websites present this placeholder when you try and visit them since all websites hosted at ***.NASA.gov are supposed to be offline. But JPL.NASA.gov is online. It would seem that JPL folks are making an illegal/unauthorized expenditure of tax funds to keep their overtly official NASA.gov website online. JPL is just another NASA contractor and bills NASA for everything eventually w/overhead - just like all of the other contractors. Why does JPL run things when other contractors are shut down? Guess they did not get the memo - or they just ignored it. I'd ask JPL PAO but they 1. always ignore me and 2. are not at work today.

Oddly, while NASA.gov goes dark, JPL keeps all of its websites online and fully functional but then tweets this - the same thing NASA itself sent out:

Due to the gov't shutdown, all public NASA activities/events are cancelled or postponed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) October 1, 2013

Yet while JPL keeps its official website functional it uses its social media accounts to say that they will not be keeping these official accounts active. So which is it? Is JPL "NASA" or is it not? Is JPL staying online or going dark? Are webmasters "essential" personnel while tweeters are not? Why is it that JPL can easily leave its websites online albeit not updated with all content available -- but NASA.gov cannot? Does JPL know something about websites that NASA HQ does not?

These websites: ~~lvis.gsfc.nasa.gov~~, weather.msfc.nasa.gov, thunder.nsstc.nasa.gov/, ~~kepler.nasa.gov, and www.nas.nasa.gov~~ are still online. Let's see if darkness falls over them as well. Please let us know if you find any survivors that are still online. So much for a consistent NASA IT policy.

Sorry, but I won't be tweeting/responding to replies during the government shutdown. Back as soon as possible. http://t.co/XjL1JDaotz
— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) October 1, 2013

"In line with NASA headquarters shutting down on Monday, JPL has put a hiatus to news releases, website and social media updates. "Information going out through the Twitter feeds and website, we coordinate with the program manager at NASA," said JPL spokeswoman Veronica McGregor. "Without that coordination, we're not releasing mission information during the shutdown." However, since JPL is privately run by Caltech and under contract to NASA, it is spared from being shut down with the rest of the space exploration organization. But the JPL Twitter feeds that are manned by NASA headquarters are already silent."

Keith's note: Ms. McGregor (who refuses to interact with NASA Watch - on any topic) fails to explain why the NASA JPL website (with NASA's logo on it and other official NASA Information) continues to stay online while all other official NASA websites are taken offline. If she wished to actually comply with what the agency is doing then her websites would go dark. They have not. Also, unless I am mistaken, a number of JPL Twitter accounts that have been shut off are actually maintained by JPL employees.

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\n\n $\"\"$ Keith's note: All websites hosted at NASA.gov addresses websites present this placeholder when you try and visit them since all websites hosted at ***.NASA.gov are supposed to be offline. But JPL.NASA.gov is online. It would seem that JPL folks are making an illegal/unauthorized expenditure of tax funds to keep their overtly official NASA.gov website online. JPL is just another NASA contractor and bills NASA for everything eventually w/overhead - just like all of the other contractors. Why does JPL run things when other contractors are shut down? Guess they did not get the memo - or they just ignored it. I'd ask JPL PAO but they 1. always ignore me and 2. are not at work today.\n\nOddly, while NASA.gov goes dark, JPL keeps all of its websites online and fully functional but then tweets this - the same thing NASA itself sent out:\n\n

Due to the gov't shutdown, all public NASA activities/events are cancelled or postponed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) October 1, 2013

\n\nYet while JPL keeps its official website functional it uses its social media accounts to say that they will not be keeping these official accounts active. So which is it? Is JPL \"NASA\" or is it not? Is JPL staying online or going dark? Are webmasters \"essential\" personnel while tweeters are not? Why is it that JPL can easily leave its websites online albeit not updated with all content available -- but NASA.gov cannot? Does JPL know something about websites that NASA HQ does not?\n\nThese websites: ~~lvis.gsfc.nasa.gov~~, weather.msfc.nasa.gov, thunder.nsstc.nasa.gov/, ~~kepler.nasa.gov, and www.nas.nasa.gov~~ are still online. Let's see if darkness falls over them as well. Please let us know if you find any survivors that are still online. So much for a consistent NASA IT policy.\n\n

Sorry, but I won't be tweeting/responding to replies during the government shutdown. Back as soon as possible. http://t.co/XjL1JDaotz
— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) October 1, 2013

\n\nJPL-related Twitter feeds, website to cease with shutdown, Pasadena Star News\n\n\"In line with NASA headquarters shutting down on Monday, JPL has put a hiatus to news releases, website and social media updates. \"Information going out through the Twitter feeds and website, we coordinate with the program manager at NASA,\" said JPL spokeswoman Veronica McGregor. \"Without that coordination, we're not releasing mission information during the shutdown.\" However, since JPL is privately run by Caltech and under contract to NASA, it is spared from being shut down with the rest of the space exploration organization. But the JPL Twitter feeds that are manned by NASA headquarters are already silent.\"\n\n $\"\"$ Keith's note: Ms. McGregor (who refuses to interact with NASA Watch - on any topic) fails to explain why the NASA JPL website (with NASA's logo on it and other official NASA Information) continues to stay online while all other official NASA websites are taken offline. If she wished to actually comply with what the agency is doing then her websites would go dark. They have not. Also, unless I am mistaken, a number of JPL Twitter accounts that have been shut off are actually maintained by JPL employees.