Keith’s note: Things are moving fast here in Washington DC. Chaos reigns. The President quasi-communicates via social media. With a shutdown that shows no indication of being resolved, the White House has explicitly stated that they are moving ahead with plans to lay off thousands of employees across the Federal government. Every agency has provided their plans according to the White House. Administration sources say that the layoffs could start as early as Friday morning. The President overtly targets “Democrat Agencies” for these layoffs. So, if you are looking for answers – what do I know? I guess it all comes down to whether the Administration considers NASA – or some part thereof – to be a “Democrat Agency”. Or not. All I can suggest is to hang on and keep the dream alive. Ad Astra. None of you deserve this.

Keith’s note: the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) sent out a letter to NASA grantees that opens with a thinly veiled political jab noting “Unfortunately, H.R. 5371 was not passed in the Senate due to unrelated policy demands” and “NASA has reviewed the activities currently being performed under your entity’s grant or cooperative agreement, specifically those activities being performed onsite at a NASA installation and have determined those activities to not be an “excepted” activity.” The full memo is below.

Keith’s note: The White House / OMB are taking a stark stance on “imminent” layoffs across the government. They want people gone. Meanwhile NASA’s top leadership is going to receptions in Australia at IAC. Stories below.

Keith’s note: I just got an update from KeepTheShuttle. OMB wants NASA and the Smithsonian to figure out how to cut Space Shuttle Discovery apart into pieces to move it. As you will recall that option was ruled out when Space Shuttle Endeavour was moved to Los Angeles on the now-defunct 747 carrier and then moved through the streets where utilities were moved and trees were cut down. Every effort was taken to preserve the integrity of this historic space ship. Now Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are only interested in snagging a tourist attraction – not a precious historic relic that deserves to be preserved – and certainly not chopped up like a leftover exhibit from a state fair and tossed on a flatbed. Full statement below. Update: There was a story on WUSA Channel 9 in DC this afternoon about this including some snark from me. video.

Keith’s note: Employees at NASA Wallops Flight Facility under the Range Operations Contract II (ROC II) received the below email from contract management late Wednesday afternoon. Note: Charge codes, CUI information, emails etc. have been removed. Memo excerpt below.

Keith’s note: Here’s how you take a space agency that has visited every planet in our star system, touched our sun, sent humans to another world, and ventured into interstellar space – and dial it down from >10 to <.01 – in a day or so. Earlier post: this memo was issued by the NASA Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) regarding “Please review your Formal Shutdown Furlough Notice carefully. If you have questions on your status, please consult with your supervisor.” Full memo below

Keith’s note: The news stories are piling up about the growing threat of actual layoffs – on top of furloughs – across the Federal government. OMB Director Vought is not mincing words. Of course, NASA HQ has plans for this – ready to be implemented – quickly. But it you try and get some information on this, well, all of NASA PAO is now on furlough and they won’t respond anyway since the White House/OMB has issued very strict and blunt warnings about doing so. Here’s a quick list of what’s out there. Hang in there.

• White House to begin firing federal workers within a “day or two”, Axios: “Vought told House Republicans that he’ll spend the next week figuring out “constitutionally” what the administration can do in terms of shrinking the federal work force, according to a source on the call. He also said the layoffs will be “consequential.”

• Memo from Congressional Budget Office, CBO
• Federal layoffs day or two away, budget director tells Republicans on shutdown call, The Hill
• Russ Vought’s directive to fire federal workers during a shutdown is illegal says Rep. James Walkinshaw, MSNBC
• Patent Office Lays Off Staff as Government Shutdown Begins, Bloomberg
• White House warns of imminent layoffs during government shutdown, USA Today

Keith’s note: according to an email from Heather Hall at NASA MSFC “NASA CFO has approved HLS as an excepted activity. … Given the contingency plan to protect Artemis II, Artemis III and the supply chain for Artemis IV+, HLS interprets the excepted employees to include:” (full email below)

Keith’s note: Some NASA employees are getting furlough letters that say: “Your Furlough Status: “You are needed to fulfill excepted activities on an as-needed basis or on-call basis. Therefore, you are being placed in a furlough status effective October 1, 2026, after orderly shutdown activities are completed.” So they are furloughed – but not furloughed – until next year? Do they get paid – if so when? Meanwhile its a good time to binge watch something on Netflix while you wait for a text message alert to do some work on your phone.

Keith’s note: NASA posted NASA Continuity of Appropriations Plan (PDF) effective 29 September 2025 saying “Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11, Section 124, NASA is hereby submitting a revised contingency plan, superseding the plan dated August 1, 2023. The purpose of this plan is to ensure NASA can perform an orderly shutdown of activities in the event of a lapse in appropriations.”

Keith’s note: this memo “Notification to all employees on furlough status” was issued across NASA to all employees. Full memo below

Keith’s note: This was sent out to NASA employees by Stephen Shinn Acting NASA Chief Financial Officer: “A funding lapse will result in certain government activities ceasing due to a lack of appropriated funding. In addition, designated pre-notified employees of this agency would be temporarily furloughed. P.L. 116-1 would apply.” Full memo below

To The NASA Family: Selfish, shortsighted power brokers are toying with America’s technological leadership in a game of brinksmanship. People suffer as a result. It is people who enable science agencies and research organizations to discover and explore the unknown. From subatomic structure and the chemistry of life – to the structure of the universe and the tools to explore it – NASA is singular in its ability to explore existence at every known scale of time and cosmic organization. More below

Keith’s note: The following internal chart from NASA Goddard details some good news about diving catch efforts WRT budgets and cancellations to keep some things alive. Whether this actually comes to fruition or if OMB efforts negate the impact – remains to be seen. But good news is better than bad news. Chart text below.

Keith’s note: NASA OIG just released this report: “NASA’s Management of ISS Extravehicular Activity Spacesuits“. In a nutshell: “To ensure the continued operations of the International Space Station and the safety of the crew, NASA and its spacesuit support contractor must ensure the suits used for spacewalks, designed more than 50 years ago, are well-maintained and reliable. The contractor, Collins Aerospace, has struggled to ensure sufficient life support components for the suits are delivered when needed and within budget and that meet quality expectations. While Collins’ performance over the last several years has declined, NASA has limited leverage to incentivize improved performance.”

Keith’s note: In a joint 670/690 Helio/Planetary division meeting today with over 230 attendees Deputy Director Gina Dibraccio said that GSFC has been instructed by management to hold back on meetings with staff so the information does not end up on NASAWatch and elsewhere. When asked who told her that she responded “I am not going to answer that”. She also said “there will be no re-org” at GSFC. Staff were directed to join in an on-site meeting tomorrow (Wed) at 11:00 am EDT even if there is a shutdown to give guidance on the shutdown.

Keith’s note: the following report was issued today: “The Destruction of NASA’s Mission” Whistleblowers reveal OMB’s Unconstitutional Plot to Gut the Agency – U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member Full report . — Excerpt below.

Keith’s note: snapshots of where things lie. It is dynamic and will change three times before lunch time today.

• “Trump’s shutdown plans: Mass layoffs, deregulation, military deployments“, Washington Post: “If Congress fails to fund the government next week, the White House is preparing for a shutdown that would reflect the purest version of President Donald Trump’s vision for the federal government, guided by White House budget director Russell Vought, an architect of the controversial Project 2025 playbook for Trump’s second term.”
• “Federal workers brace for potential government shutdown, mass layoff“, CNN: “This employee said that as of Thursday afternoon, they had not received any information from agency leadership acknowledging the possible shutdown. Another source said there similarly hasn’t been any agency-wide guidance circulated within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, which saw mass DOGE firings followed by hundreds of re-hirings. “We are hearing very little from leadership,” the NOAA source said. And regarding potential layoffs, “we are keeping an anxious ear to the ground.”

Keith’s note: To my NASA JPL readers: I am doing my best to report what I learn about what is going on at your workplace. I get calls and texts at all hours of the day 7 days a week that I then have to check out. I am supposed to be retired and yet I spend hours a day on this. Even with contributions this costs me money to operate. If all of you get fired I will not be affected. If you do not like my reporting then get JPL PAO and your management to tell you what is going on instead of expecting me to do it. I hope no one gets fired. Have a nice day. Update: just got this from Veronica McGregor – with my reply. I am starting to think that I may stop covering JPL altogether. No one is talking to one another.

Keith’s note: JPLers got this email this morning from JPL Human Resources about the “Phase Two reorganization and upcoming layoff in October”. People are being warned that as many as 4,000 of the 5,500 JPL employees could be gone by 15 October 2025 and that there will be a mandatory return to the office for teleworkers who are still employed by 31 October 2025. Full note below.