Keith’s note: According to a press release from Reps. Chu and Bacon: “Without an anomaly providing guidance on the NASA budget,” the Members wrote, “OMB has pledged to apply its proposed FY 2026 cuts as soon as October 1st. That would result in an unprecedented, single-year cut to NASA, particularly NASA’s space science activities, resulting in irreversible impacts on America’s space leadership and capabilities.” — “We therefore respectfully ask the Committee to include language in the CR explicitly protecting NASA funding at no less than the FY 2024/2025 enacted levels. Congress has acted before to protect essential programs under CRs, and NASA – a vital part of our economy, our national security, and our global standing – deserves the same protection,” concluded the lawmakers.”

Keith’s note: according to “No Cuts to NASA, Say Supporters & Experts at Rally Outside Headquarters”: Yesterday, NASA supporters held a rally outside the agency’s headquarters to call for a congressional budget that fully funds the agency, and to call on NASAs leadership to stop making cuts to programs before the budget has even been passed. A crowd heard from speakers ranging from NASA employees to science advocates to Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10). (More below)

Keith’s note: A Congressional decision on a budget looms. Nothing has emerged other than confusion and posturing. Republicans are moving toward a vote on a short-term spending bill that would allow the Federal government to remain open when the new budget year begins on 1 October and would stretch into the middle of November. Not a solution. Just a stunt to buy some time. Democrats are simultaneously moving to resist whatever cuts the Administration wants to make and may vote to shut the government down if a negotiated compromise is not reached. Given the lack of a formal budget, the Administration will be more or less free to implement its Presidential Budget Request for FY 2026 (big cuts) plus utilize recision power to make other cuts. As such NASA would likely be facing an amplified worst case scenario in 2 weeks – something that will be hard to reverse once implemented. Both sides will blame the other for shutdowns and cuts yet both sides will be responsible. So … plan your future accordingly – if you can. Ad Astra.

Keith’s note: two items from NASA about the Dragonfly mission just dropped – almost simultaneously: “Dragonfly Astrobiology Mission Progresses Through Key Development And Test Activities“, which spins things in a positive light and highlights progress made thus far, and “NASA’s Management Of The Dragonfly Project“ from the NASA Office of Inspector General which highlights schedule delays and cost overruns for Dragonfly. NASA PAO usually has a heads up from OIG that a report is coming out. Or maybe it is just a coincidence. That said, NASA is simply ignoring the true progress of this mission and why it has been delayed. Oh yes and NASA has immense budget pressures right now.

• NASA OIG says: “In January 2022, Dragonfly was approved to continue development with an updated estimated life-cycle cost range of $2.1 to $2.5 billion and expected launch date of June 2027. Then in March 2023, NASA directed project officials to initiate a replan due to funding constraints. The replan, which was completed in July 2023, included new cost, staffing, and schedule plans. As a result, the project estimated a new launch readiness date of July 2028 with an expected arrival at Titan in 2034. By the time NASA formally established the project’s cost and schedule baseline in April 2024, life-cycle costs had grown to $3.35 billion and the launch readiness date was delayed by over 2 years.”
• NASA PAO says “NASA’s Dragonfly mission has cleared several key design, development and testing milestones and remains on track toward launch in July 2028.” (no mention of any cost overruns. delays etc.)

Keith’s note: According to a press release from KeepTheShuttle: “the KeepTheShuttle team is pleased to report that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors just completed a unanimous and bipartisan vote opposing the proposed relocation of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian.

Keith’s note: according to a press release “GESTA Calls for Immediate Intervention to Halt Closure of the NASA Goddard Visitor Center”: “IFPTE Local 29 (aka, GESTA), representing Federal employees at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is calling on Congressional leaders, local government officials, economic stakeholders, and the public to take immediate action to stop the proposed closure of the NASA Goddard Visitor Center — a decision that, if enacted, would inflict irreparable harm on the community, the regional economy, and NASA’s public mission.” More below

Keith’s note: WARN notices were sent to some Human Space Flight Technical Integration Contract (HSFTIC) employees. Integrated Mission Operations Contract (IMOC) folks received generic 60 day WARN notices last week and there will be individual layoff notices sent out at the beginning of September to the specific folks who are being laid off. This is all being done according to the President’s Budget Request (PBR) for FY 2026 – even though NASA says that they are going to follow direction from Congress. This all comes to a head in September when Congressional budget stances, the PBR, threats of rescissions, and all of the other political nonsense that infects Washington, collides in advance of the end of FY 2025 on 30 September.

Keith’s note: According to an OpEd by House Science Committee Chair Babin: “Here’s the problem: Although Congress is working to ensure NASA has what it needs, the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed budget doesn’t align with Mr. Trump’s directives. To be blunt: OMB needs to start rowing in the same direction. We don’t have time for budget games.”

Keith’s note: According to a press release from AFGE, AFL-CIO Union: “The Union representing Federal employees at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility is calling on Congressional leaders, local government officials, economic stakeholders, and the public to take immediate action to stop the proposed closure of the NASA Wallops Visitor Center (WVC) – a decision that, if enacted, would inflict irreparable harm on the community, the regional economy, and NASA’s public mission. “This closure is not just a bureaucratic reshuffling. It’s a devastating blow, delivered with precision, to a community that has loyally supported NASA for generations,” said one Union member. “The Visitor Center is not a luxury; it’s a vital link between space exploration and the American public, particularly in rural regions like ours where opportunity and visibility are already scarce.” (Full release below)

Keith’s note: House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chair Brian Babin and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chair Ted Cruz sent a letter to the Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy urging “swift implementation of the nearly $10 billion investment they championed through the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). They requested a detailed spending plan from NASA that aligns with congressional intent and maintains U.S. leadership over China in the escalating space race.” Full letter

Keith’s note: Cutting NASA Education and then doing a book reading – While the Administration seeks to end all funding for NASA’s education efforts – as if that somehow makes it all better. Who comes up with these ideas? NASA’s tweet: @NASA Tomorrow, Aug. 4, @SLOTUS Usha Vance will join astronaut Suni Williams at @NASAJohnson to read a space-related book to children. Submit questions at http://go.nasa.gov/4mqU0xZ and watch NASA+ starting at ~2:45pm ET to see if your question is selected: http://go.nasa.gov/45iyPqK

Keith’s note: I was just on Bloomberg TV for the SpaceX Crew 11 launch which was scrubbed due to weather. I stayed on and talked about NASA layoffs, budget issues, and Ted Cruz’s support for the International Space Station – and moving the Space Shuttle to Texas. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. [Audio]

Keith’s note: There is a meeting next week regarding Landsat: Sustainable Land Imaging Mission Alternatives Analysis Team Industry. The meeting is looking for the cheapest way to do the least with Landsat as a result of the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request. The PBR seeks to cancel Landsat missions and descope Earth science budgets at NASA. One small problem: NASA is acting as if the PBR is the actual budget contrary to what Congress is doing. Congress has already complained about this as it was described in last month’s NASA Town Hall Meeting. But NASA is going ahead with this anyway. (More below)

Keith’s note: According to this press release from Spain: Spain is willing to offer up to €400 million to attract the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to the Canary Islands island of La Palma. — Uh oh. If you are in a ‘Make America Great in Space Again’ mood then this a huge loss for American scientific prestige – an international astronomy instrument leaving the U.S. But wait: according to Science magazine “China is quietly preparing to build a gigantic telescope“.

Keith’s note: This letter from Earth scientists has also been published in Science magazine and is reprinted here with the permission of the authors [Science, 389, 357-358. doi:10.1126/science.adz6100]: “In May, the US administration proposed budget cuts to NASA, including a more than 50% decrease in funding for the agency’s Earth Science Division (ESD) (1), the mission of which is to gather knowledge about Earth through space-based observation and other tools (2).

Keith’s note: according to this Reuters article: “NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes speaking at the same town hall, agreed, saying it would “probably be considered irresponsible” to wait for the congressional budget process. The letter added that Hughes recently ordered NASA science programs targeted for cancellation in Trump’s budget request to stop issuing press releases celebrating new scientific results and achievements.” In addition, senior staff at recent meetings at NASA with Hughes have been told not to expect any help from Congress in pushing back against the plan embodied in the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request i.e. multiple mission cancellations and large personnel layoffs. This is in direct contrast to an offer made last week to senior NASA staff by Acting Interim Administrator Duffy to listen to – and then consider – pushing for budget increases (restoration) for items planned for deletion – if a solid case can be made. And today the “Voyager Declaration”, signed by many NASA employees complaint about a variety of unpopular actions, certainly made national news. Word has it that Hughes and his staff were not at all pleased by this or the news coverage – especially CNN’s article. Meanwhile, consolidation of and deletion of various NASA social media accounts continues. Of course this has a side benefit of allowing those missions now scheduled to go away to not have any mention made of whatever scientific results they are still quite capable of providing. This of course hastens the ability for them to just fade away.

Keith’s note: According to a press release from Rep. Valerie Foushee: “Today, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08), and Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) led a group of bipartisan lawmakers in urging National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Acting Administrator Sean Duffy to refrain from taking actions to implement a drastic 47% cut proposed in the President’s FY2026 budget request for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), encourage or effectuate actions to meet proposed workforce reductions in the FY2026 budget request, or eliminate vital NASA programs until Congress enacts full-year appropriations for FY2026 through September 30th, 2026.” (More below)

Keith’s note: according to a group of concerned citizens: There will be a “Save NASA” protest coming up on Sunday, July 20th.  Our group previously organized the protest in front of NASA Headquarters in DC on June 30th.  We are a peaceful protest group, and we stand in solidarity with other scientific advocacy groups. (More below)

Keith’s note: The following was issued by House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Democrats: Yesterday, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Ranking Member Valerie Foushee (D-NC) wrote a letter to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Interim Administrator Sean Duffy warning him of the dire consequences to U.S. leadership in space if the administration illegally impounds congressionally appropriated FY25 funds for NASA. More below