Keith’s note: FYI this is from a NASA document about “METEOR” – the new time keeping system that will be implemented across all NASA centers: “Monitoring Exceptions and Tracking Employee Onsite Reporting (METEOR)” According to documentation, “METEOR tracks full-time in-person status for all civil servant employees, captures any exceptions to NASA’s Feb. 28, 2025, onsite reporting requirement, and ensures compliance with the agency’s Return to Full-Time In-Person Work (RIPW) plan.” By the way, what great acronym, NASA OCHCO – METEOR – something that slams into Earth’s atmosphere with no warning and crashes into things randomly. Embrace The Challenge y’all (pics below) 🕵️‍♂️ ☄️

Keith’s note: This NASA article by Elizabeth Landau (in both English and Spanish) will be on NASAWatch – even if NASA tries to erase it – again – and please take the time to read “NASA celebrated this employee’s story of resilience, then tried to scrub it from the internet. Then fired her” at space.com

Keith’s note: It would seem that DOGE is tracking NASA employees as they come – and go – at NASA Headquarters. And if they are doing it there then you can expect that this will be done across the agency. And that is the plan.

Keith’s note: a week ago I posted Erasing NASA Diversity Abstracts Is Not That Easy saying “The NASA DEI Erasure Squad has been busy. If you search for past LPSC abstracts on DEI, DEIA, diversity etc. you’ll see that they have disappeared and prior meeting agendas have been altered.” Well they have been busy and huge amounts of material are simply vanishing. USRA did this stealthily until too many people started to notice – only then did they have the notion that they should say something using some classic Orwellian Double Speak. (More below)

Keith’s note: According to this NASA release Dave Gallagher Named 11th Director of JPL as Laurie Leshin Steps Down: “Laurie Leshin has decided to step down as director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Sunday, June 1. David Gallagher, who has been serving as the Lab’s associate director for Strategic Integration, has been selected by Caltech to lead the federally funded research and development center. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.”

Keith’s note: According to this Space Force Association tweet: “Big news from the Space Force Association! We’re thrilled to share that our very own Chief Growth Officer, Col. Matt Anderson, USAF (Ret.), has been nominated to serve as Deputy Administrator of NASA.” Update: NASA PAO issued a statement – 3 hours after everyone else had posted the news on social media.

This week marked 100 days in President Trump’s Administration – 100 days of pressing forward on bold goals while continuing our tradition of exploring, innovating, and inspiring for the benefit of all. When we take a step back, the progress we’ve made together is clear.

Keith’s note: This is being circulated at NASA regarding new performance evaluations to be done 4 time a year. Note that: “Faithful Support of Administration of the Law and the President’s Policies” are Number 1 criteria for both SES & SL/ST personnel.

Keith’s note: There was a Town Hall at Goddard on Monday. Multiple employees have reported that this event was tense. There were security guards posted in the back of the overflow room. According to people who attended the Town Hall, NASA is trying to avoid involuntary RIFs as much as possible but all of this is TBD until the new Administrator shows up to review/approve plans. NASA GISS folks will telework until September until office space in New York City can be found. It would seem that the GISS lease decision was made by NASA and GSA DOGE teams. A DOGE representative told the GSFC Center Director that GISS work had value and that DOGE just had an issue with the lease cost. This is in conflict with a report that it would not be cheaper and would be disruptive (see “NASA Is Terminating The GISS Lease In Five Weeks“). The GSFC Center Director spoke about telework, saying that it is decided by direct line managers as per agency policy. However, it’s clear to folks at GSFC that managers are simply following orders from the directorate level – and each GSFC directorate head has established separate and inconsistent policies.

Keith’s note: The NASA DEI Erasure Squad has been busy. If you search for past LPSC abstracts on DEI, DEIA, diversity etc. you’ll see that they have disappeared and prior meeting agendas have been altered. Try this one from 2022: “Insight’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group“. Its gone. But the Internet Archive has it here. While I have your attention how about this one over at NTRS “Diversity and Inclusion in Spacecraft Science Teams: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About It?” from NASA GSFC that was presented LPSC 2023. Or “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Initiatives on the Mars 2020 Science Team and Implications for NASA Planetary Science Missions“ presented at LPSC 2024. These and many other diversity and inclusion themed abstracts are all still online at a NASA server. And there’s man more abstracts and papers online all over the agency. And they are being archived offline. And they are in the abstract volumes originally created and distributed in printed and PDF formats to tens of thousands of participants. The DOGE Diversity Narcs are not very good at their job. You cannot make this whole topic go away. It just grows back and spreads when you try to do so. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: according to NSF director to resign amid grant terminations, job cuts, and controversy at Science: “Although Panchanathan, known as Panch, didn’t give a reason for his sudden departure, orders from the White House to accept a 55% cut to the agency’s $9 billion budget next year and fire half its 1700-person staff may have been the final straws in a series of directives Panchanathan felt he could no longer obey. “He was trying so hard to present the agency in a positive light,” says one knowledgeable source who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of their position. “But at the same time, Panch knew that he was alienating himself from the scientific community by being tone deaf to their growing concerns about the fate of the agency we all love.”

Keith’s Update from additional sources: During an extensive independent review of GISS (and NSSTC) ending in December 2024 it was concluded that it would cost NASA (and GSA) much more to try to terminate the current GISS lease – and that while also doing there would be massive damage to ongoing research going on. This move won’t safe DOGE or anyone else anything. Quite the contrary. Keith’s earlier note: This was just sent to all NASA Goddard and GISS employees by Makenzie Lystrup: “Dear Colleagues: As you likely know, the administration is currently examining all government leases. As a result, NASA’s lease of Columbia University’s Armstrong Hall in New York City, home to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will end effective May 31, 2025.”

Keith’s note: According to the 18 April 2025 White House posting “The Trump administration on Friday will announce that it’s moving ahead with a new rule, previously known as “Schedule F,” that will make it easier to remove federal employees it believes are undercutting President Trump’s agenda.” This all points back to a posting on this topic issued on 20 January 2025. (see Schedule F Is Back)

• According to Axios, “By stripping civil service protections from about 50,000 people — roughly 2% of the federal work force — Trump is continuing his far-reaching effort to trim the federal bureaucracy and make it more answerable to him.”
• AP notes that Trump is “starting the process of reclassifying 50,000 federal employees under what’s known as Schedule F, which can make civil servants into political appointees or other at-will workers, who are more easily dismissed from their jobs. That means they’ll have less civil service protection.”

This week brought steady progress across the agency, as teams tackled key milestones in flight testing, propulsion, Artemis prep, and more. It’s a snapshot of how your work continues to push the mission forward, every single day. Here’s some happenings from around the agency:

Keith’s update: I am hearing that people at NASA centers are ask management if the workforce would be informed of the NASA RIF plan. NASA got a one week extension on submitting its plan. No one seems to be certain if the RIF plan will be shared. NASA HQ wants to hold it close due to a high leak potential. Also mentioned is an interest in having Jared Isaacman provide input (after confirmation) before it is released/implemented. Keith’s (earlier) 14 April note: NASA is required to submit their Phase 2 RIF plan aka “ARRP” to OMB and OPM today. So … Janet Petro and senior NASA leadership will know what the basic plan is. How many others in agency management (e.g. Center Directors) will know is not clear. Now it’s up to the White House to drop the axe. According to Guidance on Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans Requested by Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative: “Phase 2 ARRPs [Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans] Agencies should then submit a Phase 2 ARRP to OMB and OPM for review and approval no later than April 14, 2025. Phase 2 plans shall outline a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward. Phase 2 plans should be planned for implementation by September 30, 2025. The Phase 2 plan should include the following additional information:” [more below]

Keith’s note: the following was posted on LinkedIn by Mamta Patel Nagaraja, who was NASA Associate Chief Scientist for Exploration and Applied Research – until that office was closed last month and everyone was laid off. Her words remind me of the time when I decided to leave NASA. But the image – as they say – speaks a thousand words. It stopped me in my tracks. I asked if I could post this and she said “Yes, of course”. FWIW Speaking from experience you can leave NASA – but it never leaves you.

• “I said goodbye to the OG yesterday. I’d love to tell you that I held my head high, but I have never painted a rosy picture online that wasn’t actually rosy. Yesterday was sad. Angering. Relieving, dare I say- after all, I left a toxic atmosphere. Emotionally perplexing indeed. But overall, sad. I always imagined a happy exit from NASA, either retiring or choosing to leave for bigger opportunities. Alas, as I promised you, I’ve dreamed again and you’ve helped. In countless ways. I’m thinking about creating my own company, I’ve got a few startups who want to chat, a prospect where I could help prevent another pandemic, and maybe even a chance to inspire young kids to explore the unknown. And I’ve only been a free agent for one day! Things are looking up – I’ll update you soon on which path I travel next. And if I haven’t responded to your message yet, I will. I just needed to get through my last 30 days at NASA. To new beginnings!“

Keith’s note: This is from [email protected]. FWIW I was in the same mindset when I quit NASA civil service. It hurts. — “Almost 2 months ago when I was in CA, I wrote a letter to you. There was a day then when I walked into the resident office fully believing it was my last day at NASA. I was prepared to lose my computer access at any point, so I wanted to leave you a farewell message. I tell you this because I wanted to set the stage for how long this has been on my mind. Sorry for this being perhaps one of the longest two-week notices ever written, but I think the situation requires it.

Keith’s note: Amidst the ever present fear of being fired (without any real details), having budgets cut and missions cancelled, Janet Petro wants your ideas on how to improve NASA. And you only have one week to submit them. And just like the “Five Things What I Did Last Week” thing, memo there are 5 questions. FYI when I go to https://forms.office.com/g/opuPtHnrRg I get a 404 – that may be because I am outside the firewall. But based on input from inside NASA the link does work. Embrace the challenge y’all. Janet’s memo – and the questionnaire form located online inside the firewall below:

Keith’s note: According to this 2021 ENR article, Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro was firmly in the diversity-is-good camp back in the day. KSC Director Janet Petro Reflects on Diversity: “Petro: KSC has embraced the link between diverse teams and innovation. We reinforce this message with our entire workforce by including it as one of our DEIA Crucial Topics: “NASA sees DEIA as a mission imperative. Our commonalities unite us as a team, and the universe of our differences gives us the perspectives and insights that mitigate group think and confirmation bias.”