Keith’s 30 April note: At today’s meeting of MEPAG a NASA speaker said that that an outline or top-level aka “skinny” budget for FY 2026 might be released in the next few days. The full-blown, formal FY 2026 budget proposal will probably not come out until the end of May. Keith’s 1 May Update: the White House is going to release FY 2026 budget information on Friday.

Keith’s note: the following letter was sent on 30 April 2025 to House and Senate leaders: “Dear Chairmen Moran and Rogers, and Ranking Members Van Hollen and Meng: We write to express our profound alarm to the reported Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal emerging from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to cut an astonishing 47% of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) budget in a single year.

Keith’s note: Jared Isaacman’s nomination to be NASA Administrator was just reported favorably out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (full committee) by a vote of 19 – 9 . There was no discussion. It is now up to the full Senate to vote on this confirmation. Given curent standoff between Democrats and Republicans with regard to nominees this may take some time to happen. Democrats are not allowing unanimous consent, so confirming people now requires quorum calls and roll call votes which can slow down the process.

Keith’s note: a full committee executive session of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will convene a full committee Executive Session on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 10:00 am EDT to consider nominations and legislation – including that of Jared Isaacman. The agency will stream the hearing on NASA+, and the committee will stream it on its website. Oh yes – NASA PAO wants you to know that lots of people support Isaacman (see below).

Keith’s note: According to this press release issued on Monday by Rep. Judy Chu CA-28, whose district includes JPL and Caltech: “Today, President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reportedly sent a preliminary budget plan to NASA that proposes a 50% cut to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and to eliminate funding for the Mars Sample Return (MRS) mission led by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is owned by NASA and administered by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).” Full text below.

Keith’s note: NASA has led space science and “Made America Great In Space” for more than half a century. Let’s not let that science leadership fade. Let’s expand it further. NASA has led the way by:

• touching the sun
• visiting every planet in our solar system
• sending humans to walk on another world
• doing the first offworld search for life
• moving an asteroid
• finding water on the Moon and Mars
• discovering oceans inside icy moons
• sailing across interstellar space
• peering back to the dawn of the universe
• developing a global brand that all nations aspire to

Keith’s note: the following are the realtime social media quotes I posted on @NASAWatch regarding the salient points of today’s confirmation hearing for Jared Isaacman. And yes, he said that reads NASAWatch. (sigh) I’m never going to retire, am I?

Keith’s note: According to Opening Remarks by Jared Isaacman in advance of his confirmation hearing:

“On that note, NASA is the most accomplished and respected space agency in the world—but for all of NASA’s historic achievements, the agency is not without challenges:

• Presidents have called for a return to the Moon and a path to Mars since 1989 and well over a hundred billion has been spent without the intended results.
• Most programs—new telescopes, rovers, X-planes, or entire spaceships—are over budget and behind schedule.
• This is discouraging because people look up at the stars and wonder what is out there today, not decades down the road.”

Full statement below

Keith’s note: according to NASA: “Jared Isaacman is set to participate in a hearing to become the next NASA administrator at 10 am EDT on Wednesday, April 9, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The agency will stream the hearing on NASA+, and the committee will stream it on its website and YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content on a variety of agency platforms, including social media.”

Keith’s note: According to House Democrats probe Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest with NASA, Axios: “Rep Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Gery Connolly (D-Va.) sent a letter to Iris Lan, NASA’s chief legal officer, requesting information and documents by April 21. They asked how NASA is ensuring that Musk isn’t exploiting the agency to enrich himself and his companies, which they said would violate ethics rules for his position as a special government employee. … “Mr. Isaacson’s fortune is tied to Shift4, the payments processing company he controls. In 2021, Shift4 entered into a partnership with Starlink, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mr. Musk’s SpaceX. Shift4 estimated that its partnership with SpaceX will generate $100 billion in Starlink subscription payments.” Full letter text below.