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: I got a call tonight from a local reporter in southern California about the layoff threat at JPL. Long story short he pushed hard to try and pry lose my sources. That ain’t gonna happen. Here’s what he posted “Layoffs coming to Pasadena’s JPL: Here’s what we know“– “Meanwhile, Keith Cowing, Nasawatch.com founder and editor, said the information he received was from JPL employees whom he spoke to on the phone, many of whom were crying. He protected his sources, saying he would not name them, because they feared if anyone learned their identities they would be fired for speaking out.” FWIW I said ‘some of whom were crying‘ – not ‘many‘. I am doing my best to report what I know and confirm it, JPLers, but the drama surrounding JPL is starting to peg my B.S. meter. Just sayin’. Meanwhile, hang in there.

Keith’s note: the occupant’s last whiteboard message is a common sight across NASA. A wealth of expertise and dedication is being mindlessly forced out, undermining NASA’s leadership in space exploration. Ad Astra Per Aspera y’all. Larger image below.

Keith’s note: this upbeat memo went out to everyone at NASA today. It starts with “During this period of transition” which is NASAese for “now that you have had to quit your job”. …

Keith’s note: A slight bit of maybe not good – but somewhat less bad news: on 27 March OPM issued Guidance on Executive Order Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Programs. “This order invoked the President’s authority under 5 U.S.C § 7103(b)(1) and 22 U.S.C. § 4103(b) to exempt agencies and agency subdivisions from the provisions of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and the Foreign Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (individually and collectively, the FSLMRS). The President’s Executive Order directs that the FSLMRS will no longer apply to the following agencies and agency subdivisions (collectively, the “covered agencies and subdivisions”): — With a long list agencies BUT NOT NASA. No mention of NIST or NOAA either but NSF is listed. I have no idea what these omissions mean. But for now …

Keith’s note: whatever legal restraint might have been imposed on the Trump Administration’s mass firing spree has evaporated. Let the firings commence.

• Judge rejects unions’ request to pause Trump administration firings, Washington Post: “U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled against the National Treasury Employees Union and four other labor organizations that requested a temporary halt to the mass firings. More than half a million federal workers could lose their jobs through the Trump administration’s firings and a separate program of deferred resignations, or buyouts, the unions said in legal filings.”
• Lawsuit

Keith’s note: some good news out of NASA JSC, NASA GSFC, and NASA MSFC. Sources report that probationary employees at these centers have been exempted from being fired. I also heard that ARC was going to fire up to 50 employees. Unsure of how many people this good news covers – but every job saved is of value to NASA and to the employee’s family.

Keith’s note: This document was being distributed on Monday, 3 February 2025. Full text below

Keith’s note: Looks like Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro has totally bought into this. Her words. Update: In all fairness this is the OPM memo that Team Trump sent to all agencies with a template wording for memos, etc. That said, Janet Petro agreed to be NASA Acting Administrator so she had to send it out – but she sent it out under her name without explaining that she was told to do so. As such, minus any explanation, it is her words unless she clarifies things. PAO has not provided any information on this memo. So it is what it is.