Keith’s note: according to Brian Hughes exits NASA, teases ‘new chapter’ “Brian Hughes, who most recently has served as Chief of Staff at NASA, says he’s exiting that role and preparing for his next move. On LinkedIn Hughes posted “NASA is entering an exciting new era under Jared and President Trump.”

Keith’s note: Two officially-issued, government-sanctioned, and un-redacted Santas: NASA Santa and DHS ICE Santa. Seriously. Both were issued by the same government. Ho Ho Ho.

Keith’s note: Looks like NASA HQ is upset with me because I posted text of an email that multiple employees sent me with links that were included got overloaded. No mention of classification or proprietary nature. They are now blaming me – in this case in a phone call – for blocking people at #NASA from accessing the town hall. Yea its my fault for blocking NASA’s ability to serve up a simple webcast. This is wacky. The same organization that can program spacecraft in interstellar space has no idea how to do load balancing and traffic management. I think its time that I turn this damn thing off Jared Isaacman. When NASA blames a 70 year old retiree sitting in his basement for thousands of employees not hearing what you have to say then something is seriously screwed up – with NASA – not me. This is not a new problem with NASA IT. Now I guess I am waiting for some NASA IT cops to come after me. It was a mistake to bring NASAWatch back. Beam me up.

Keith’s note: FWIW my advice for Jared Isaacman at the town hall. I think he gets this. As the NASAWatch guy, former NASA civil servant/contractor – and Apollo era child: You do not need to give a motivational pep talk to NASA people. No where else does someone get to go to work every day to explore the universe. This is baked into the soul of everyone within and around the agency. And it has been simmering in there for decades, often since childhood. The workforce has been through a lot – budget cuts, layoffs, buyouts etc. They just want to know that they have a leader who will lead – and learn – and have their back. Its that simple. Ad Astra y’all.

Keith’s note: The above email was sent out to NASA employees at 8:33 am ET today. If you click on https://townhall.nasa.gov/vpncheck/ It checks you out and sends you to a VPN firewall and then a NASA Access Launchpad security thing. If you click on https://nasa.cnf.io/sessions/frpn/#!/dashboard to submit questions you are asked for name email and center. I just typed in my real name (Hi NASA!) and said I worked at “N/A” center and I got in. Interestingly each of the questions identifies the specific individual asking the question by name – so beware …. I tweeted the questions asked (see below) – with submitter names deleted. More below. Update: According to NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens “@NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman is having his first town hall internally with NASA employees to foster a culture of open discussion and mission-first collaboration with his team. We understand there is a great deal of interest in what will be said in today’s town hall. As such, we will be releasing it in its entirety following the event. NASA is committed to open communication, but agency wide workforce meetings serve an important purpose of allowing employees a direct line of communication and candid conversation with the Administrator without outside influence.”

Keith’s note: According to a message sent to NASA employees from newly-minted NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman who has pledged to “serve transparently” and said “I look forward to discussing this with all of you tomorrow at an agencywide town hall.” So … will this Town Hall be broadcast on NASA+ / NASA TV? UPDATE: NASA PAO says that it will not be publicly webcast. It is not on the website schedule here or here. I have submitted several inquiries to NASA PAO and posted on social media asking if this will be publicly viewable. No reply (yet). It goes without saying that the ‘NASA family’ is much, much larger – and more disperse – than civil servants with access to NASA video behind a firewall. Contractors, extramural/university researchers, people on travel, researches in the field, policy makers – and of course taxpayers – all have a stake in what happens at NASA. If NASA PAO decides not to open up access, I’ll happily accept (once again) audio recordings y’all might want to make on your phones and will ‘acid wash’ them to anonymize any source info. Ad Astra y’all.

Keith’s note: this was distributed internally at NASA. “As a pilot, astronaut, and lifelong space enthusiast, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve as your 15th NASA Administrator. I’m humbled by the chance to work alongside you – the greatest scientific and engineering minds this nation has to offer.” More below

Keith’s note: Jared Isaacman’s confirmation has been approved by the Senate by a vote of 67 – 30. Next stop is swearing in. So we may have a new NASA Administrator this week.

Keith’s note: If new border entry requirements go into force a lot of non-U.S. citizens may not be inclined to come to the U.S. for NASA and space-oriented meetings since they will be required to give the U.S. government access to 5 years of social media postings. According to a 10 Dec 2025 Federal Register posting by CBP regarding the Arrival and Departure Record (Form I-94) and Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA): “3. Mandatory Social Media: In order to comply with the January 2025 Executive Order 14161 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application. The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years.” So maybe NASA and all of its professional organizations will consider start using Zoom again like they did during the pandemic. Or move their meetings offshore. And flying suborbital flights out of the U.S. will be more intrusive as well.

Keith’s note: according to a press release from House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology “House SST Committee Investigates Alleged Misconduct in Agency Civil Rights Offices” letters have been sent to a number of agencies (including NASA) “following disturbing reports of potential obstructionism within agencies’ Office of Civil Rights (OCRs). The letters seek to determine the scope of this obstructionism and to inform appropriate oversight measures to ensure OCRs are fulfilling their statutory responsibilities.” More Below.

Keith’s note: House Science Committee Democrats just issued this press release that includes a letter and detailed spreadsheet listing GSFC changes to personnel, programs, and facilities in excruciating detail – and requests NASA feedback. My quick take: It would seem that no one is doing any real work at GSFC until next spring since everything is moving, being sold off, rebuilt, closed down. Other centers have similar albeit more localized changes like this but all of the actions have not hit them yet. So NASA will have lost staff, lose budget (programs, missions etc.) one way or another, and everyone is moving their offices or waiting for people to get to their new locations before resuming work. ‘Time for a new NASA phone book’ as we’d say at NASA. Full text and links below.

Keith’s note: As part of the amputation of NASA Goddard, the Fitness Center is being closed. Who needs healthy employees, I guess. Memo below. Update: a reader notes: “This action seems to violate a NASA requirement for field centers to have such facilities. Per NPR 1800.1E 3.2.2.1(c), “3.2.2.1 Centers shall: c. Operate fitness facilities with hours of operation meeting most users’ needs and work schedules. Center fitness facilities operate in NASA-funded space, which may also include swimming pools, indoor basketball courts, locker rooms, and restrooms.”.

Keith’s note: This is how a NASA person speaks truth to power. You can leave NASA but NASA never leaves you. It’s that ‘Right Stuff’ we all share. Senator Mark Kelly posted this via @SenMarkKelly to deal with the ‘Wrong Stuff’ issued by the White House: “When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space shuttle flights at NASA, and every day since I retired – which I did after my wife Gabby was shot in the head while serving her constituents. In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets. At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much. Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death. If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”

Keith’s note: Remember DOGE? Well, it no longer exists as a thing with that name – although some of the chaos it caused is now formally part of OPM and other parts of the agency. According to Reuters: “U.S. President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate, ending an initiative launched with fanfare as a symbol of Trump’s pledge to slash the government’s size but which critics say delivered few measurable savings. “That doesn’t exist,” Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about DOGE’s status. It is no longer a “centralized entity,” Kupor added, in the first public comments from the Trump administration on the end of DOGE.”

Keith’s note: Update on the next Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) sponsored by USRA’s LPI.

• If you go to the LPSC abstract submission page, the top Abstract Submission Criteria listed says “All submitted abstracts must comply with Administration Executive Orders. Any non-compliant abstracts will be removed from consideration for the conference program.”
• The words “Administration Executive Orders“ links to a page regarding DEI which says “NASA headquarters advised LPI and the AGs in late January that all AG activities were to be paused to give the agency time to review them to ensure that they complied with “presidential actions.” Among those presidential actions are various Executive Orders, memoranda, and other directives terminating DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)-related positions and activities throughout the federal government. (“IDEA” is LPI’s term for “DEI.”)”
• I already know of several instances wherein people have submitted LPSC abstracts including DEI topics which were summarily rejected. I have also seen social media postings wherein space and planetary scientists and students are objecting to this policy and, in some cases, are refusing to attend/participate at this year’s LPSC.
• Oddly enough LPI has a rather DEI-centric Code of Conduct listed on its site – something that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusions that the NASA DEI police might take issue with. Just sayin’.
• Update On USRA/LPI/LPSC Diversity Censoring (earlier post)
• LPI DEI Censorship Memo From USRA/LPI (earlier post)
• USRA’s Non-Deletion Deletion of LPI Website Material (earlier post)

Keith’s note: the following memo has been sent out to NASA staff to explain how things will resume operating at NASA. Full memo below:

Keith’s note: the following was sent out to the NASA workforce today: “A Message From Acting Administrator Sean Duffy: Welcome Back NASA Team, Thank you for your dedication and resilience throughout the shutdown. From those who sustained mission-critical operations, to those who remained on call, to those who were furloughed, I appreciate your role in helping us continue NASA’s essential mission, even during a shutdown.”

Keith’s note: the following was sent out by NASA CIO Jeff Seaton to the OCIO workforce today: “OCIO, I want to personally thank those of you who supported the Agency in a variety of capacities during the shutdown and welcome back those of you who were unable to work. As this shutdown ends I appreciate your resilience and professionalism during this time. I know this has been challenging — both personally and professionally — and I appreciate the commitment you always show to this Agency and to public service. You are what makes NASA great.”

Keith’s note: According to an agencywide note to NASA employees: “A Message From Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya Anticipation of Resuming Normal Operations: NASA Team, In anticipation of the passage of a bill that will end the government forward to welcoming all staff back from furlough as early as tomorrow. Please watch NASA’s external website for confirmation. If your situation returning to work tomorrow, please discuss this with your supervisor. Sincerely, Amit Kshatriya NASA Associate Administrator”.