Get Ready For Budget Cuts At NASA
Empty launch pads
NASAWatch
Keith’s note: What is this going to do to NASA’s Artemis plans, and issues within SMD over science missions – and the “nice to have” things like education? Stay tuned. According to Reuters: “The deal would suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January of 2025, allowing the U.S. government to pay its bills. In exchange, non-defense discretionary spending would be capped at current year levels in 2024 and increased by only 1% in 2025.” Ouch. More.
7 responses to “Get Ready For Budget Cuts At NASA”
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By my reckoning Artemis could be scaled back of its cost+ contracts and save about 20% of NASAs budget. If there is truly a Gateway needed to support Starship, the IPs and Commercial providers would have to pick up the slack. NASA would have to defer Blue Origins lander until Starship has a chance to prove itself.
NASA got big budget boosts in past two (or three?) years so maybe Nelson and others anticipated take the extra money while it is available. But then doesn’t sound good when NASA needs competitive salaries to attract young people and money to fix old buildings.
“NASA” salaries have little to do with it. First of all only a small percentage of people working for NASA dollars are actually NASA. Most are contractors. It varies by program and center but the number is as high as 90% contractor/10% NASA. NASA variations in salaries are not that great. Program managers often do not make as much as some senior level employees. Within the ranks, the dollars going to salaries are based on factors like age, time with the company, degree(s). Some of the commercial contractors are doing great with relatively younger, less experienced, lower wage employees.
I can’t imagine NASA would cut education. Education gets very little, so theres not much to cut. Besides education and STEM are mission critical both to inspire the next generation but also to recruit for the NASA workforce. In actuality I think thats a lot of hype from NASA; they seem to reach fewer and fewer every year. There are a couple showcase programs NASA uses for advertising, but most students, teachers and schools are on their own.
But yet we somehow have money for defense systems we don’t need, and tax breaks for yachts.
Go figure.
If you have to borrow money to pay your bills, then you aren’t really paying your bills. You’re just making more bills.
NASA will need an increase in its research budget to solve the Artemis heat shield performance issues. NASA is downplaying the criticality of this issue and it could be very serious.