Keith’s note: The other day I tweeted that “In the @NASAKennedy town hall yesterday KSC Center Director and former Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro said that it was that DOGE and the Administration who told her to consider firing probationary employees ‘because that’s an easy way to cut down the work force’.” NASA PAO has told me that Janet Petro has “worked to ensure the continuity of the Pathways intern program” and I corrected that tweet. However I am told by iron clad sources that Janet Petro directed NASA Goddard to get rid of all interns, close the cafeteria and the health unit. DOGE was not the source of this direction. Like a lot of recent actions at NASA that involve DOGE, personnel downsizing, budget cuts, and mission cancellations, the real story is somewhere in between and subject to revision. I stand by my sources and yet I will always make corrections when NASA emphatically disputes my reporting.
Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member... More by Keith Cowing
It is beyond me why anyone in the STEM discipline would wish to pursue a career working for the government given recent events.. Perhaps a brief stint with NASA just long enough for a resume bullet, then off to greener pastures.
Thank you, Keith. We have repeatedly asked “where is this coming from? Who is directing us to do this?” and the reply was always “headquarters” or “management.” Never an actual identifiable person. We get that hard choices have to be made, but the persistent obfuscation of the origin makes it hard to trust that the decisions have NASA’s best interests at heart.
KSC told current pathways that they would not be converted too so not sure why they are even promoting the most recent program. Are they really hiring pathways again? Head in the sand avc up their own @S$ at the sane time I swear.