A Former JPLer’s Take On The Layoffs
Keith’s note: I am turning off commenting on this post. I cannot believe the comments I am seeing – people saying “so what”, “No big deal” – and some outright happy that 500+ JPLers are being laid off for [particular odd politics] reasons. You people have screws loose. Jeff Nosanov: The other day the Jet Propulsion Laboratory – the facility in Pasadena that built and operates the Mars Rovers – just laid off approximately 8% of its workforce, about 530 people. Occasionally in human history a superpower will choose to abandon a position of leadership, or yield dominance of a frontier, in favor of, or because of, internal or domestic conflict.
The Western Roman Empire fell into chaos in the fifth century as a result of an overly aggressive foreign policy – leaving the Byzantine Empire to last for 1000 years. About 500 years later, explorers from Denmark reached the North-Eastern shores of what is now Canada, but retreated to Greenland – leaving the natives to their home until France ultimately became the main European power there. Another 500 years later, the Chinese Navy famously demolished thousands of its then-globally dominant ships during the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century, yielding the global seas to European powers for half a millennium. The mind boggles at the possible state of the world today had those ships continued their journey.
Yet another 500 years later, the United States of America is poised to make a similarly clear, historic, and impactful mistake. Congressional budget difficulties and infighting have resulted in the layoffs of over 500 of the world’s brightest and most creative staff from one of humanity’s greatest achievements; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Many of those staff themselves came to the USA to work at JPL, fulfilling that great calling of the United States – bringing the best out of people from all over the world. JPL led the United States, and humanity, to the Moon in the 1960s with early robotic space exploration, and to this day pushes the boundaries past the edge of the Solar System.
During the Space Race of the 1960s England and France did not have the resources to mount full-scale lunar exploration efforts of their own. Instead, they worked together to create the Concorde supersonic jet, which created an advanced aerospace technology for the entire world. The fall of the Soviet Union led the United States to support the International Space Station program – at least in part to give the scientists and engineers of the former Soviet Union something internationally constructive to work on: something other than working for international arms dealers, weapons manufacturers, or warlords. This did not prevent the Soviet arms industry from persisting into modern Russia, but it may have turned a few swords into plowshares.
JPL has produced wonders that have explored the farthest (the Voyager space probes left the solar system), dug the deepest (rovers and landers exploring the mysteries of life and the solar system underground on other planets) and lit the darkness (examined objects in space that have never – in five billion years – seen the light of the sun) of any of humanity’s pioneers. It has also employed tens of thousands of people and contributed massively to the aerospace industry of Southern California for almost a century.
The leaders of the past may not have known they were making historic mistakes. The Danish explorers who abandoned Canada may not have known about the Western Roman Empire. The Chinese Navy commanders may not have known about the Danish. Lost in the mists of history, those clear mistakes are understandable. Their makers may not have had the same knowledge of world history that we have today.
But we do not have the excuse of ignorance. History shows us both what happens when a superpower abandons a frontier – someone else takes it, and that such things are conscious choices. It is the height of folly, arrogance, and fully-informed ignorance for our leaders to allow this to happen. It will lay morale in a smoking ruin for a generation and hand the torch to China, who will be glad to take the lead. Humans will lead into the darkness, but they may not be American. That may not be the worst thing in the world, but it was not always the American way. JPL – and the people who lost their jobs today – deserve better. Shame on those in the political class whose machinations caused today’s tragedy.
Jeff Nosanov worked at JPL from 2010-2014 and for NASA more broadly in a variety of roles until 2019. He is a three-time winner of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Fellow research grant, and was the proposal manager of multiple missions selected by NASA for flight. He is also the author of the book “How Things Work at NASA” is available here / https://offers.howthingsworkatnasa.com/freebook
