Keith’s note: I did these screen grabs on my phone at 5:00 pm today – one after the other. Its is common to see this repeated use of Fox News – and only Fox News – as fodder for Sean Duffy tweets from NASA. It is hard to understand why Sean Duffy only pays attention to Fox News and not appear on – and then feature videos from – CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc. since he’d probably generate more positive vibes – with a greater audience reach – for NASA if he’d venture outside his former employer’s echo chamber. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: NASA held an internal all hands briefing this morning. Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said that is giving a lot of authority to the new NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. Duffy is not sure how long he will be acting Administrator since there are no plans in place but that could change. Duffy said that American needs to get to the Moon before China and then go on to Mars. He used the phrase “manifest destiny to the stars” to describe the rationale. Duffy said that the President’s Budget Request for FY 2026 is the NASA budget and that it is enough for NASA to be able to accomplish its mission. But Duffy would try to get more money if needed. Duffy said that NASA is under a tight time schedule to get back to the Moon and that things need to change like increasing programmatic pace. Looking into safety, in echoing the Department of Transportation and FAA, Duffy said “sometimes we can let safety be the enemy of making progress .” [Audio]

Keith’s note: Kevin Coggins (LinkedIn), the current AA for NASA SCaN, who was trying to be noticed as a possible administrator nominee, is supposedly going to be the next Associate Administrator of NASA. Vanessa Wyche is the Acting Associate Administrator so I guess she goes back to JSC where Stephen Koerner is Acting Director. With Coggins moving up that means he’ll be with other Florida natives – de facto NASA head (Chief of staff) Brian Hughes and White House Liaison Darren Bossie (who goes by his rapper name “Darren B.” on LinkedIn) inside the glass doors on the 9th floor. Meanwhile there’s no movement toward getting a real leader in place to head NASA.

Keith’s note: Everything that comes out under Sean Duffy’s name regarding NASA seemingly has a typo, some odd capitalization, or blatantly incorrect facts. Take this tweet for example: “NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy @SecDuffyNASA NISAR is successfully in orbit! The mission is a joint U.S.-India effort, negotiated by President TRUMP. Thanks to his LEADERSHIP & our friends at @ISRO, @NASA is Making Space Great Again!” As a community note clarifies: “The agreement to develop and launch NISAR was signed in September 2014, during the presidency of Barack Obama and under the leadership of Charles Bolden as NASA Administrator.” Meanwhile, to the gist of Duffy’s tweet, isn’t it a little odd to announce punitive tariffs against India on the same day the result of a space partnership is realized? (tweets below)

Keith’s note: this went out to everyone at NASA. You’d think that a former TV guy could read the room a little better i.e. “deeply personal and often difficult decisions”. — “Dear Team, Thank you to all who took the time to thoughtfully consider NASA’s voluntary resignation programs. I know these are deeply personal and often difficult decisions. To those who have chosen to depart, I want to express my sincere appreciation for your service. Your work has helped shape NASA’s extraordinary legacy of discovery and innovation. Whether you are continuing the journey here or taking your next step beyond, your contributions will always be part of the foundation we build on. Thank you for all you’ve done – for NASA, for your teams, and for the mission we’ve shared. Sean Duffy Acting NASA Administrator”.

Keith’s note: Duffy’s first message had a strange farewell at the end. Full message below:

Keith’s note: According to a media advisory sent out on 22 July by NASA HQ “Senegal will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 24, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Brian Hughes, NASA chief of staff, will host Maram Kairé, director general of the Senegalese space agency (ASES), and Abdoul Wahab Haidara, ambassador of Senegal to the United States, along with other officials from Senegal and the U.S. Department of State.” Why is NASA chief of staff Brian Hughes the senior official hosting this event? I thought Sean Duffy was Acting NASA Administrator? And Acting NASA Associate Administrator Vanessa Wyche and NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails, who would seem to out-rank Hughes, still work there, yes? This screen grab from last month’s NASA Town Hall shows a seating arrangement that speaks volumes in terms of who runs the show at NASA right now.

Keith’s note: Vanessa Wyche Acting NASA Associate Administrator just sent this out: “NASA Team Members, Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, announced that she will leave NASA, effective Friday, Aug. 1.

Keith’s Note: Nice of NASA HQ to post a picture in the background from Sean Duffy’s earlier career 😉 . According to a tweet by @SecDuffyNASA “Wrapping up my day at @NASA – spoke with the smart leaders of our mission directorates. We agree- America MUST dominate space and our critical moon mission, #ARTEMIS, must be as known & supported by America just as Apollo was! It’s a race to the moon. Clock is ticking. I’m fired up and ready to launch!” 🚀📷🔥

Last week, President Trump announced Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy will serve as NASA’s next acting administrator. Since then, my focus has been on ensuring a smooth transition. I’m also pleased to share I’ll be returning home to Kennedy Space Center as its center director – rejoining my colleagues and continuing our vital work, hand in hand with our new NASA leadership to propel our ambitious goals.

Keith’s note: Apparently Janet Petro did not ‘Embrace The Challenge’ hard enough when it came to getting people at NASA to quit – thus leading to her replacement – even thought the NASA website says she is still in charge. At least that is what senior NASA leadership tells me. Interim (i.e part time) NASA Administrator (and also Secretary of Transportation) Sean Duffy is a 100% Administration loyalist so he can be expected to carry out (or delegate) whatever actions the White House tells NASA to do – without question. Since Duffy already has a day job, this means that NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes is the de facto Administrator. As such NASA is a managerial subsidiary of DOT for the time being. There are plans for Secretary-Administrator Duffy and NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails to make some sort of fireside chat video on Friday that will be available to all NASA employees. As such you can expect the budget cutting and personnel deletion to continue at Warp 9.

Keith’s note: Apparently NASA Interim Administrator Sean Duffy was actually onsite at NASA HQ briefly last Friday. Some sort of video message from Duffy is supposed to be coming out according to NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes. At some point Duffy will be allowed to talk to actual NASA employees. But wait – is Duffy actually in charge of NASA? Do drive-by’s count? Or is this how you manage DOT and NASA at the same time? Who runs NASA when Duffy is doing his other day job? Meanwhile, the NASA Leadership page still says that Janet Petro is Acting Administrator. But she’s not, right? As you scroll down the page the next face that comes up is Acting Associate Administrator Vanessa Wyche. So is she in charge? Or is the next face – Casey Swails, Deputy Associate Administrator? We don’t see Brian Hughes’ face – but he’s actually in charge – apparently. Didn’t we go through this whole “who’s in charge of NASA thing” on Inauguration Day? Meanwhile we have no official Sean Duffy pics at NASA so I’ll use the ones we find online like this one from the Washington Post. Stay tuned.

Keith’s note: I was just on Bloomberg TV/radio/Web. [audio] I was asked if there was an issue with New Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy having more than one job. I replied that this usually means that you delegate more to your staff. I noted that while Department of Transportation involves a lot of known, commonplace things but that NASA is really all about the whole rocket science thing and that Duffy will really need to lean heavily upon NASA staff. I also noted that the agency is still being run by NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes who is a former Trump campaign guy and a pal of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles – and that having a direct hotline into the White House when you need something is certainly not a bad thing to have. On the other hand Duffy is a staunch Trump loyalist so he’ll be implementing the Presidential Budget Request for NASA for FY 2026 including layoffs and cancellations as if it is a formal plan until directed otherwise by Congressional action on a budget that the President signs off on. Video below – my interview starts at 44:20

Keith’s note: this is from NASA PAO “I am honored to have served the President as the acting NASA Administrator for the past 6 months. His decision to appoint Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy as acting Administrator reflects the high priority he places on our agency at this pivotal time. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Secretary Duffy—including during Crew-9’s return in the Space Operations Center at NASA Headquarters—and I’m confident in his leadership as we carry forward the President’s ambitious agenda. I look forward to supporting a smooth transition and returning home to Kennedy Space Center as Center Director. At home in Florida, I’ll continue to work hand-in-hand with Secretary Duffy to propel the President’s ambitious goals.” – Janet Petro.

Keith’s note: Moments ago I spoke with CNN about NASA’s budget, science, layoffs, competition with China and newly appointed “interim” NASA Administrator DOT Secretary Sean Duffy. [Audio]

Keith’s note: According to a social media post from @realDonaldTrump “I am pleased to announce that I am directing our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to be Interim Administrator of NASA. Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again. He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean!”

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 message from Janet Petro was issued today: I’m pleased to share that Jaclyn (Jackie) Jester has been selected as NASA’s deputy chief of staff, where she will help lead the coordination and execution of initiatives, programs, and policies for the administrator and agency leadership.

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)