Keith’s note: this letter was sent by Acting NASA GSFC Director Cynthia Simmons and NASA SMD AA Nicola Fox to Rep. Zoe Lofgren regarding Lofgren’s letter to NASA (House Demands Answers Over Goddard Changes) over concerns about actions being taken at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center. . Full letter below.
November 2025
Thank you for your letter and interest in the vital work of the Goddard Space Flight Center. Since NASA’s inception, Goddard has pioneered much of the technology that enables exploration, America’s thriving space industry, and world changing science missions.
Your assertion that Goddard is being shut down or dismantled, however, could not be further from the truth. As you are no doubt aware, NASA has operated under continuing resolutions (CRs) for much of the past two fiscal years. These CRs, combined with rising operations and maintenance costs over a prolonged period have forced NASA to implement efforts to ensure the center’s long-term viability through more efficiently utilizing available space and consolidating or reconstituting facilities. Efforts to reduce operations and maintenance costs started at other Goddard campuses over five years ago, and discussions and specific planning for consolidation efforts at the Greenbelt campus began in June 2023.
This ongoing work will make Goddard better positioned to lead the development, integration, and testing of NASA Science flight missions, and will reduce approximately $10 million a year in the center’s annual operating costs while also avoiding approximately $64 million in deferred maintenance costs. This work is being carefully coordinated with the mission project managers of the critical missions currently in development to avoid impacting schedule and/or increasing costs. In many cases, waiting to reconfigure laboratories or technical workspaces would unnecessarily delay program work and increase mission cost.
All these efforts are in alignment with NASA Science Mission Directorate leadership and are designed to position Goddard for the future and protect ongoing missions, many of which are in pursuit of key decadal priorities and Congressional direction. Thank you again for your interest in this effort and I look forward to continuing to work with you to advance American leadership in space. Sincerely,
Cynthia W. Simmons
Director (Acting)
Goddard Space Flight Center
Nicola J. Fox, Ph.D.
Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate
People are being padlocked out of machine shops with no warning and can’t make parts needed for flight boxes. I wouldn’t call that “carefully coordinated”.
This plan does somewhat date back to a Goddard Master Plan 2028 that was released in 2012 (I still have the animated video), but the way it’s being implement now is MORE than haphazard and truly unprofessional.
“discussions and specific planning for consolidation efforts at the Greenbelt campus began in June 2023.”
With whom were these discussed with? Clearly not employees or Congress, who have been blindsided.
This doesn’t seem like the Master Plan on an accelerated timeline or
like the Master Plan beyond some vague association with consolidation.
1. The Master Plan doesn’t talk about 30-40% staffing reduction in 1 year like the PBR, which drove the DRPs/retirements that started in June 2025. Nor does it talk about that from now through 2038.
2.Also, the math is not mathing.
The reduction in space seems to be much more than a reduction in square footage of 25%….”Through a combination of demolitions, renovations, and other moves, the plan charts a path to a 25% reduction in building square footage by 2038. Amounting to roughly 1.4 million square feet in total, the bulk of the reduction (almost 1.2 million square feet) would occur at Goddard’s principal campus in Greenbelt, Maryland.”
They targeted closure of Area 400 according to the reference above. That is 100 acres, which converts to about 4 million sq. feet.
That more than meets their goal.
The math is not mathing at all.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/master-plan-for-nasas-goddard-space-flight-center-receives-approval/
Just doing the math, if the goal was “
Master plan includes building several cutting edge new buildings and move key technology labs into. Only one was built and dragonfly moved in. Optics, detector, cryo, laser, microwave have not got their new building. Meanwhile, equipment, labs,, machine, people moved into whatever available old buildings populated by pest, leak walls, some lab don’t equipment to run certain test with the new equipment. Like nitrogen line
Among other things, it’s a shame NASA has gone from being rated the #1 Best Place To Work in gov’t every year for over a decade in a row to being constantly gaslight by management this year out of nowhere, especially at GSFC, and especially by management that has been there in some cases for decades. If FEVS wasn’t cancelled this year it would be interesting to see what the result would have been. Nothing done this year has been to “better position Goddard for the future” as we’re constantly being told.
Congress sent this letter as a reply to the reply with a request to have specific questions answered by Monday, 11/17:
https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/md_delegation_ltr_acting_nasa_administrator_duffy_on_goddard.pdf