Keith’s note: According to this news story the NASA Advisory Council is being disassembled. No mention has been made by NASA if it will continue to exist/function, who will be on it, and what it will/will not do: “NASA officials provided a statement to El Paso Matters that appears to be the agency’s first public comment on its plans for the NASA Advisory Committee. Committee members are not paid for their service.“The NASA Advisory Council is a discretionary committee that reports directly to the NASA administrator. The NAC has an active charter in place through September 2027. The composition of the NAC and the topics it addresses are within the authority and discretion of the administrator. Future membership is under discussion,” the statement said.” Earlier NASA Advisory Council posts.

Keith’s note: according to a press release from the Select Committee on China: “The committee’s report, Research Security for America’s Future in Space: NASA’s Enforcement of the Wolf Amendment, reviewed NASA-supported research collaborations involving entities affiliated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including several institutions connected to China’s defense industrial base. The report identifies hundreds of NASA-supported or funded publications that potentially violate the Wolf Amendment due to bilateral research collaborations between American and Chinese coauthors and institutions. These findings raise significant concerns regarding the adequacy of historical post-award monitoring, enforcement, institutional disclosure practices, and the agency’s ability to identify potentially prohibited collaborations occurring under NASA-funded research awards.”

Keith’s note: Depending on what effort is in motion, ISS will be shut down in 2030. Maybe a year or two later. There was a session at AIAA ASCEND today “A Microgravity Laboratory of the Future“. Given recent comments by NASA Admininstrator et al that the case for the things ISS was supposed to do having not been made, the issue as to whether CASIS needs to exist arises. The ISS National Laboratory exists in law and was created by Congress. The law stipulates a non-profit entity to manage to U.S. portion of the ISS dedicated to ISS National Lab functions i.e. CASIS. If the International Space Station is dumped into the ocean then CASIS has no ISS National Lab to manage. With all of the future commercial space stations – real and imaginary – setting up their own commercial/academic research ecosystems, the need for CASIS is no longer obvious. Earlier CASIS postings.

Keith’s Note: NASA press release: The United States Senate today voted to confirm Matthew Anderson, Col, USAF, Ret., as the Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Anderson was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and will serve as the 16th Deputy Administrator of the agency.

Keith’s note: there are some blatant truths in this piece “Are we pilots or are we passengers?“ by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. The same growing distrust in Europe with regard to the U.S. and NATO is now expanding into NASA/ESA relations. It’s our own fault folks. This is no way to treat our friends. We can fix this. Just sayin’.

• “Recent changes to the Artemis architecture by the United States signal a rapidly shifting landscape in human space exploration. Decisions to pause Gateway and cancel Mars Sample Return disrupt Europe’s lunar exploration plans, underscoring a broader reality: Europe has become too exposed to decisions beyond its control.“
• “Europe must decide whether it prefers to be dependent on others to send its explorers into space or to assume its role as a fully capable space power. As the head of the European Space Agency (ESA), I am convinced that autonomous human spaceflight is not a luxury. It is a necessary anchor for Europe to secure its freedom to unlock the scientific, economic, strategic and geopolitical benefits of space and to inspire a new generation to shape Europe’s future.”

Keith’s note: America and Canada were inspired a proud of Artemis II. NASA said that -a lot. And its true. The crew visited Congress but NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens only reposts Republican social media on her official account @NASASpox. No Dems. No mention of Canada. Why? C’mon. We’re ALL proud. Oh yes … after the midterm elections NASA may need those Democrats to help out on things. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: the following email was sent by NASA Goddard Center director regarding insourcing at Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility in West Virginia. Full text below

Keith’s note: NASA Wallops employees in Code 800 have been informed that they’re now under KSC management effective immediately and that GSFC ETD (Engineering and Technology Directorate) leadership had been instructed to cancel their travel to Wallops. These employees were also told that an email with more details would be coming later this week.

Keith’s note: The recent firing of the entire National Science Board by the White House is not going down well in Congress. While the immediate impact is on NSF this will result in collateral damage at NASA, NOAA, NIH, NIST, and all other government science activities – just as the Administration says that America needs to dial up its leadership in Science. Both House and Senate members have issued simultaneous rejections of this unwarranted action.

• According to a press release and letter from House Science Committee Democtrats: “House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) led thirty-one Democratic Members in sending a letter to President Donald Trump regarding his legally dubious April 24, 2026, termination of all 22 Members of the National Science Board (NSB). The NSB advises Congress and the President on the activities of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and it has served this function since the creation of NSF in 1950. In their letter, the Members call into question the legal basis of this decision and demand that President Trump reinstate the Board immediately.”
• According to a letter sent by Senate Democrats: “Terminated NSB members have stated that OMB instructed NSF leadership not to share details of the agency’s budget plans with the full board, despite the NSB’s statutorily mandated role in approving NSF’s spending.16 With the NSB now entirely vacated, there is no independent check on OMB’s influence, if not control, over NSF grant-making, strategic direction, and spending priorities. As one former board member warned, NSF could “essentially become a pass-through for implementing things in the domain of sciences and technology that the administration just wants to do.”

Keith’s note: Last week the ATOM contract at NASA Ames which provides O&M support for the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (Code AO) and the Arc Jets (Code TSF) was informed that NASA will be insourcing this contract and converting the majority of the contract to GS positions ~ 100 people.

Keith’s note: I was just on CGTN representing my Astrobiology.com website with Dr. Amitabha Ghosh to talk about the UAP image release and the search for life in the universe. We spent nearly all of our time talking about the science of searching for life and the prospects of finding life – intelligent and otherwise – elsewhere. [Audio].

Keith’s note: I was just on Al Jazeera talking about all of the images and things that were released today about UAPs, aliens, lens flares, etc. [Audio]

Keith’s note: Last year NASA was going through a brutal downsizing effort. The White House is at it again with proposed budget FY 2027 cuts that would cripple large parts of NASA. And new management changes threaten the workforce and science efforts. I needed your financial support last year to keep NASAWatch running. I need help again. I am not drawing any salary from this. The funds go to what it takes to run the site and add new talent to it. NASAWatch is a tiny presence when it comes to immense NASA. Sometimes it squeaks with a loud voice – thanks to you. Note: The button below goes to the secure Stripe financial payment system. The payment will be made to SpaceQ Media Inc. which is handling our donations. It will appear as “SPACEQ MEDIA INC.” on your credit card statement. This is not a tax deductible donation.

Keith’s Note: If you read the NASA press release regarding former NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes’ return to NASA It says “Reporting to NASA Headquarters in Washington, Hughes will have direct responsibility for launch operations at NASA Kennedy, as well as the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. He will work across government, industry, and local leadership to strengthen coordination among stakeholders supporting NASA’s spaceports, enable increased launch cadence, and support execution of the President’s National Space Policy to ensure continued American leadership in space.” As such, the decades-long management by NASA Goddard of NASA Wallops – a launch facility in Virginia (a blue state) will now be run out of Florida (a red state) – thus continuing the deliberate shrinkage of NASA Goddard. And while NASA HQ is not being moved out of Washington DC, some of its major functions will be moving to Florida. Stay tuned as other aspects of the long-anticipated “Red Wedding“ unfold at NASA. Update: NASA Administrator Isaacman and I had a Twitter exchange about this. Full exchange below.

Keith’s 8:54 am EDT note: Former NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes is coming back – to NASA KSC as Senior Director of Launch Operations based at KSC and will report to NASA HQ with direct responsibilities KSC and Wallops. Update 10:23 am EDT: here is the official release

Keith’s note: I posted an item Contractor Conversion Flaws Arise At NASA wherein I summarized information from multiple employees at NASA KSC about workforce contractor to civil servant conversion. Before I continue, I stand by what I wrote based on the very real sources I interacted with. But this is NASA we’re talking about i.e. “NASA = Never A Simple (Straight) Answer“. Communication up and down the management tree at NASA is always flawed with chronic built-in distortion. The new Administrator’s push for transparency has helped, but his efforts are a work in progress. NASA PAO usually ignores NASAWatch these days, so the agency’s response came via the @NASAAdmin account saying that what I posted was “not true”. Again, I can only go by what sources convey to me and what I can confirm via those sources. This evening I got a note from someone in the mix at KSC that contradicts much (but not all) of what I posted (see below). I know who the person is – but retribution for speaking out is still alive and well at NASA – so they will simply be known as “LETF Employee”. Full response from LETF Employee below.

Keith’s note: Prior to the arrival of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman a substantial part of NASA management direction was done verbally and not documented. Often times it was in direct opposition to stated congressional direction. Congress was not amused – especially Democrats. That has changed under Jared Isaacman to a rather substantial extent. While the FY 2027 Presidential Budget Request for NASA is a near mirror image of the FY 2026 PBR, Congress seems to have a much better interaction with Isaacman – and NASA management. But they are still not happy with science and education cuts. And there is still the matter of NASA delivering its FY 2026 operating plan to Congress. If Democrats gain majority in the House (and maybe the Senate) those concerns will be turbocharged. Meanwhile, the White House is leery of what a potential congressional flip in one or both chambers might mean. According to the Washington Post “The roughly 30-minute briefings have included a PowerPoint presentation about how congressional oversight works and best practices for handling it, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Staff from the counsel’s office have encouraged political appointees to be careful about what they put in writing and provided guidance for how to respond to congressional inquiries in a timely manner, the people said.” NASA may be somewhat ahead already when it comes to thinking across the aisle. That said … stay tuned.

Keith’s update: see “Contractor Conversion: Two Things Can Be True At NASA” Keith’s note: I have been hearing of some concern at NASA KSC (and elsewhere around NASA too) about a perceived rush to convert core functions from contractors to civil servants. At a top level there is a certain logic to this. But when reality pops up it gets messy. One issue has to do with waiving education requirements to retain civil servant expertise. Again, this makes some sense – people who have been doing the job and doing it well should be allowed to continue regardless of where they got their experience. But when this is put in practice it is totally different. Some of the engineering folks at KSC have 10, 20, 30+ years of experience but are lacking college degrees. They are being told that this prevent or limits their ability to be converted from contractor to civil servant. At the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) the younger contractor engineers with degrees were converted – but the ‘legacy’ (older) engineers were laid off – and with them a lot of space muscle memory went out the door. Update: this response from the NASA Administrator’s witter account was just tweeted. NASA PAO does not bother to contact me directly any more. I stand by my post. Apparently the full picture is not being communicated clearly at all levels and among affected employees at NASA KSC.

Keith’s note: Imagine that I am a regular person trying to find those 12,000 Artemis II images from links in all the recent articles about them. If you go to https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and search for “Artemis II” or “ArtemisII” or “Artemis” you get one search result (see image). If you search for “Moon” you see “Lunar Collection” which has nothing from Artemis – nor are there any ‘Artemis’ links elsewhere on this Moon page. If you go to the NASA Artemis page or the Artemis II page these 12,000 Artemis II images are not even mentioned.

Keith’s note: Keith’s note: There are lots of CNN stories being told this morning. Ted Turner has left us. But he’s still here. CNN gave him a window into the world and he sought to bring that window to everyone, everywhere. He also cared passionately about peace and our home world’s environment and donated billions to back that up. He was one of a kind. Here’s my story. In August 1980 I was still working for Gov. Jerry Brown’s presidential campaign. We were at the Democratic National Convention in NYC. I was sitting in our campaign suite in the Waldorf Astoria and someone from CNN called. I sort of knew who they were. They had only been on the air for a few weeks. They wanted Jerry on their air. I said that we were aiming for ‘larger’ audiences. They said “but we’re on [was it twenty?] cable systems”. I asked where their booth was in Madison Square Garden. It was way, way up in the cheap seats. I recall saying something like “so you’re up there with AM radio, yes?” and The CNN guy said “yea its really cheap up here and we have a great view”. Ted Turner had been personally working the assembled delegates and candidates to get them on air. I saw him doing that in a hotel lobby. CNN was often the underdog and they always tried harder. Oh yes – then there was the time my good friend Miles O’Brien and I were covering a shuttle launch on the Fourth of July. Suddenly North Korea launched a bunch of missiles toward Japan we had to do 30 minutes of on-air seat of the pants coverage until the military guys showed up in the green room after being pulled out of their holiday picnics. No one else was covering this. We were. Fun times. I have been on CNN over 50 times. I am clearly a fan. It is my favorite network. And it is what it is because of Ted Turner’s vision. Thanks for inviting me over to chat Ted – with all of your great journalists.