Keith’s note: We are the first nation to sail between the stars. America is already “Great in Space”. Lets make it – make NASA – even greater – not weaker.

Keith’s note: with regard to commercial solutions to missions being canceled, data archiving etc. – Nice idea. But actually this is a disaster in the making. With the rush to spontaneously cancel a wide swath of missions, there is no transition plan for data recovery or archiving in a structured fashion in place at NASA or by the Administration. It is all chaos. Data will be lost, mangled, parsed, and scattered. So unless dedicated people go out and buy a bunch of 10 TB drives and skirt government regulations and save it on their own, this will become a data diaspora. And thus the loss of these missions will be compounded by this scattered data. This has happened before and it is happening again. I have seen this happen at NASA with my own eyes. Not everything will end up nice and safe in GitHub. Embrace THIS Challenge.

Keith’s note: In what will soon become commonplace another valuable and valued employee is leaving NASA: Ronald Gamble, Jr, Ph.D., a Theoretical Astrophysicist in the Astrophysics Science Division at NASA GSFC. He posted this on LinkedIn: “An amazing thing happens when you pursue a dream and achieve it — you transform. It is a metamorphosis that forever changes you. These last four years at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and The University of Maryland have been the most transformative and invigorating time in my career and I will never forget the work and connections I’ve made.” (more below)

Keith’s note: the pace at which people are leaving NASA is going up. People with 25 years like Edward Gonzales are bidding farewell. I have seen many notes from folks but this one he posted on LinkedIn just stopped me in my tracks. Reposted here with his permission. AdAstra Eddie from NASA. Full post below.

Keith’s note: Here’s a snapshot of where things stand in the DRP (Deferred Resignation Program) arena: Over 2,600 NASA employees have taken the deal so far and the window doesn’t even close until 25 July. In addition, there are another 350 or non-DRP departures scheduled. Add that up and you have over 17% of the NASA workforce planning imminent departure. Over 70 SES employees are leaving – that includes Human Resource directors, the CIO, and the CISO. Center Directors are also planning departures. NASA is going to be at the lowest level of employees since it was founded. At this rate an agency-wide RIF may not be needed but focused RIFs at centers may still be called for. People without options are staying behind risking RIF exposure with an increasingly bad job market. Back at NASA, with large gaping holes in expertise at forming, you have to know that reassignments and relocations are going to be required to “re-balance” things. Of course the contractor workforce gets doubly screwed since they have no real protections. University researchers will be left high and dry. And you can forget about nurturing the pipeline of next generation space scientists and engineers. This is not making space great again. Rather, it is NASA being taken off of the playing field while other nations ramp up and reach for the prize.

Keith’s note: According to White House looks to freeze more agency funds — and expand executive power in Politico: “OMB’s targets include NSF research and education programs that operate using funding leftover from 2024. Also on the list are … more than $100 million in science spending at NASA, which includes climate research.” Meanwhile, internal agency sources report that NASA is already implementing aspects of FY 2026 budget request – now – sometimes using FY 2025 dollars. And they are emboldened in so doing by various Executive Orders from the White House and loyalists on the 9th floor. NASA is acting as if FY 2026 request is the de facto operating plan going forth. Dozens of NASA mission teams are scrambling to complete shutdown plans to make it easier for NASA to start flipping the OFF switch on short notice. The plan is to implement all of the shutdowns etc. effective on 1 October 2025 i.e. as FY 2026 begins – regardless of what the actual status of a real FY 2026 Congressional budget is. By the time there’s a formal budget it will be too late to reverse most – if not all – of these layoffs, shutdowns, and cancellations. Of course, NASA also has RIF plans – but they use euphemisms to say that they don’t. Since not enough people are leaving, something has to give. And don’t count on Congress to come to the agency’s rescue. It’s going to be a long hot summer y’all, so Embrace THAT Challenge.

As we approach Independence Day, I recognize this continues to be a time of transition for many across the agency. We’re working through complex changes together, and I want to thank you for the professionalism and dedication you continue to demonstrate in support of our mission.

Keith’s note: This notice describes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) plans to address criminally liable regulatory offenses under the recent executive order on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations. [see 90 FR 28818 – Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement]. (full text below)

Keith’s note: This was written and originally posted here by Mark V. Sykes, Ph.D., J.D. Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute: “This statement is my opinion and does not reflect an official position of the Planetary Science Institute.: Institutions are reeling from the spray of executive orders from the White House since late January. Activities in support of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) have been particular targets, with the cancellation of large numbers of research and other grants and contracts and the bizarre purging of material from government websites (including, for a time, information about the airplane that dropped the first atomic bomb, the Enola Gay). (More below)

Keith’s note: According to “The first rule in Trump’s Washington: Don’t write anything down“ in The Washington Post:

• “Within the Interior Department, top officials are telling U.S. Geological Survey center directors not to put the words “reduction in force” or “RIF” – both terms for federal layoffs – in memos or emails, according to an employee there. At the Education Department, political appointees are scrambling to move staff around to make up for resignations and firings, but refusing to issue reassignments in writing, said a former staffer there.”

• “At one NASA center on the West Coast, staff no longer have conversations at their cubicles, an employee said: Any chats happen inside an office, with the door closed, and most people prefer to talk outside on the lawn, escaping the building entirely. “Nothing is written down,” the employee said. “Nothing.”

Keith’s note: Those of you in the space community know that NASA Science is facing an immense budget cut. Dozens of missions have been cancelled and many missions that are still returning valuable data are being shut off – in many cases to save a few million dollars – a tiny fraction of what it took to mount the missions in the first place. This data will be lost. In the case of New Horizons which is currently traversing the outer solar system, NASA is going to knowingly forfeit a third interstellar mission (after the twin Voyagers). This latest interstellar mission would be done with a healthy spacecraft outfitted with 21st century instrumentation. The Voyagers are minimally functional and will soon fade all together. We could continue to expand America’s pre-eminent exploration of interstellar space until the middle of this century. And that lead will last unchallenged for a generation or more to come. As I noted last month “This is not the way for America to lead the way out into the cosmos. Hopefully Congress will wake up and notice. Let’s ‘Keep America Great In Space’ — not abandon our lead.” More: Stellar Cartography: A Demonstration Of Interstellar Navigation Using New Horizons.

Keith’s note: I spent several hours at NASA HQ this morning at the protest event. By the time left around 10:00 am there were around 100 people there. Lots of cars honking, cheering, and loads of hand made signs that mostly focused on cuts being made to NASA’s budget – specifically to NASA’s Science activities. The crowd was friendly, courteous, with no trouble makers and minimal evidence of any security. While these events are often limited in their reach anyone inside of NASA HQ or arriving at work saw clear evidence that there are people from GSFC and HQ that are willing to take a public – and loud – stance on this issue. The one Trump sign quickly disappeared with a overall mostly non-partisan focus on cuts to NASA and how Congress might fix that. Kudos to these folks.

Keith’s note: With regard today’s protest event at NASA Headquarters, I simply do not understand why the Planetary Society (and all those other advocacy and industry groups) totally avoided even a mere mention of this event. You would think that some sort of tip of the hat toward active citizen involvement would be worthy of mention. A few weeks ago Planetary Society had a petition that got “20,787 signatures from around the world” and delivered them to some office in Congress. That’s nice – but it is a little weird that they are mounting an effort with non-US signatories when the folks on Capitol Hill only deal with their actual American constituents’ interests. Also, you’d think that the whole notion of a “rising tide lift all boats” or “united we stand, divided we fall” might occur to the Planetary Society folks. Instead they try and paint themselves an anointed savior and then only when it comes to a part of NASA’s budget – not all of it. This budget cut is an issue that affects all corners of the space sector in America – and the impact that this has on all Americans – not just a portion thereof.

Keith’s note: NASA Associate Administrators & Center Directors are told by the Acting Administrator to get more people to quit. Non-compliance by CDs/AAs will lead to their firing. And yes, there will be RIFs. Monday’s protest is a start. So, take Janet Petro’s advice: Embrace The Challenge – show them you won’t take this sitting down. Be safe.

Keith’s note: As noted last week there will be a protest outside of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC from 7:00-11:00 am EDT on Monday, 30 June 2025. Information about the event can be found here. This event has obtained a formal permit from Metro DC Police. The event is endorsed by the Goddard Engineers, Scientists, and Technicians Association (GESTA). But NASA HQ management is not happy about this. This event is not endorsed by and does not represent the views of NASA or any employer doing business with NASA. But you would be wise to be aware of your surroundings and who may be watching you. The employee union is spreading in accurate information by mentioning the word “strike” – which this is not – and no one has ever said it was. Here is what the organizers, NASA employees union, NASA management, and the NASA HQ union says: (More below)

Keith’s note: HQ-NASA-INC sent this out at 3:04 PM edt today about the demonstration at NASA HQ On monday: “NASA Headquarters Team, A demonstration is scheduled to take place outside NASA Headquarters from 7 to 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 30. The demonstration is permitted by the Metro DC Police.

Keith’s note: As of 4:07 pm EDT has 1,604 people taking voluntary separation. The 9th floor has been pushing Center Directors, Directorate AAs, etc. to get more people to quit – a lot more – over 3,000+ more.

Thank you to everyone who tuned in for this week’s agency town hall. More than 32,000 of you watched through townhall.nasa.gov – and that doesn’t include those who gathered in auditoriums and conference rooms to watch together. A big thanks to our Office of the Chief Information Officer for putting key measures in place to ensure we stayed online and uninterrupted from start to finish.  Keith’s note: here is the audio from the Town hall event – note that although the topic of RIF was frequently asked, Janet Petro makes zero mention of that word or statements that she and her staff made in this sanitized version of the event. Instead it is all about “voluntary workforce shaping”.

Keith’s note: I get this on my watch multiple times a day. My heart sinks each time. When people at NASA hear you say “Embrace The Challenge” Janet, they do. They quit.