House Demands Answers Over Goddard Changes

Keith’s note: According to a House Science Democrats press release: “Today, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) sent a letter to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Acting Administrator Sean Duffy demanding that NASA immediately halt plans to close and move laboratories and mission-critical facilities at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Ranking Member states NASA must respond within 24 hours and emphasizes the threat these chaotic and veiled moves and closures, partially carried out during a government shutdown, pose for flagship NASA missions. Committee staff obtained new information late last week that Goddard has told staff additional facilities would need to be emptied by Wednesday, November 12.” More below plus full letter.

“In recent days, my staff has received disturbing reports that NASA is directing the imminent closure of laboratories and facilities hosting mission-critical capabilities at the Greenbelt, Maryland, campus of the Goddard Space Flight Center,” said Ranking Member Lofgren in the letter. “These actions put essential hardware and capabilities at great risk.

The laboratories and facilities facing closure support many NASA flight missions, and they include laboratories essential to the completion of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The agency’s hastily planned moves and closures – some of which I understand are already well underway – risk causing significant delays for multi-billion-dollar missions under development such as Roman and could heighten the risk of mission failure altogether.”

“NASA must halt any and all laboratory, facility, and building closure and relocation activities at Goddard as well as the relocation, disposal, excessing, or repurposing of any specialized equipment or mission-related capabilities, hardware, and systems, and it must do so now,” continued Ranking Member Lofgren.

“Further, NASA must ensure the continuing operation of the laboratories and facilities needed to sustain the ongoing, excepted work occurring at the Goddard campus, especially work on the Roman Space Telescope. The agency must respond to this letter, in writing, within 24 hours to confirm that all such activities at Goddard have been put on hold indefinitely.”

The letter can be found here.