NASA Sleepwalks Through Its Economic Impact Report Release

Keith’s note: NASA put out a report NASA’s Economic Impact Report for fiscal year (FY) 2023. In addition to its data rich/ lousy common language construction (see A Nice NASA Economic Impact Report By / For Wonks) NASA is not really spending much effort to tell people about it. In addition to the report there are additional data files and one PDF file for every state (but nothing for Puerto Rico). But other than some info from GSFC, KSC, and Armstrong, NASA PAO seems to have ignored its own websites and not sent out any media advisories or press releases relevant to local state economic impacts (no mention here) just their main release and a KSC link. NASA has once again demonstrated that it is utterly clueless and bereft of strategic thought when it comes to demonstrating its value and relevance to its stakeholders, taxpayers, and its puppet masters in DC. This is going to come back and bite the agency. It is downright embarrassing that the same agency that can look outward and back at the beginning of time and reprogram 50 year old spacecraft in interstellar space can’t explain itself to the people that pay for the whole space thing. More snarky detail below.

I got an interesting email from NASA Goddard with lots of information. But when I checked the NASA Goddard website I see no mention whatsoever of the NASA economic impact report or anything that this media email has regarding benefits to Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Lots of links and details. Kudos to GSFC PAO for the email.

“In its third agencywide economic impact report, NASA highlighted how its Moon to Mars activities, climate change research and technology development, and other projects generated more than $75.6 billion in economic output across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in fiscal year 2023. Over that period, NASA supported 33,809 jobs and generated almost $8 billion in economic output in Goddard’s home state of Maryland. NASA climate change research – a core capability of Goddard’s – continues to see a $1.3 billion economic output in the state.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/new-report-shows-nasas-75-6-billion-boost-to-us-economy/

• Maryland-specific summary: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/maryland-fy23-eir-state-sheet.pdf
• Virginia: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/virginia-fy23-eir-state-sheet.pdf
• D.C.: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/washington-dc-fy23-eir-state-sheet.pdf
• Full report and other documents: https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2023-economic-impact-report/
• POC: Rob Garner, [email protected]”

People who work at Wallops – managed by GSFC – live in Delaware – but no mention is made of the impact on Delaware. Oh well. This is still the most effort any NASA center put into trying to reach outside the space bubble.

Meanwhile, I see no mention of this economic impact report at the following NASA field center websites: Ames, Glenn, Marshall, Michoud, White Sands, JPL, Stennis, or at Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility.

But NASA Kennedy has an article mentioning the report and its impact on Florida and a statement from the center director and NASA Armstrong has a link back to NASA HQ but no mention of local economic impact. SO at least Kennedy, Goddard and Armstrong are paying attention. The rest of NASA – not so much.

I did a random news search for “NASA” and [“state name”] and also with “economic” added. Idaho, West Virginia, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alaska, and so on. Nothing mentioned in the news. Nothing on TV that I can find. Yawn.

NASA did a bunch of tweets so that had some ‘reach’. But you know they will only do this for a day or so and then nothing but crickets. NASA Public Affairs clearly has no idea how to describe its impact for non economics media and the general public (see A Nice NASA Economic Impact Report By / For Wonks). Nor does it know how – or care to – send out a simple media advisory to a list of major media outlets and organizations sorted by state or region. Issuing the sort of report (with actual good news) less than 2 weeks before a contentious presidential election is probably a dumb move too since the news is instantly lost in the blinding glare of politics dominating the news cycles. Even if the report was issued in clamer times NASA has no skill at follow through. They toss things out and poof nothing 3 days later.

I am not sure what passes for strategic thought on the 9th floor at NASA right now. Not much apparently. Regardless of who wins/loses the election NASA has growing budget and chronic mismanagement challenges that are already eating science programs. NASA is going to need as much good will, support, empathy, enthusiasm, and outright help if it is going to do Artemis, Mars Sample Return, all the new telescopes, and Earth Science, and Aeronautics stuff. This half-assed economic impact rollout is not how that will happen.