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The overwhelming majority of NASA’s staff could be despatched house with out pay and all however its most crucial operations – together with administration of the International Space Station – could be paused.
Update: Since this story’s publication, a authorities shutdown has begun. For the newest data, go to this text.
NASA is much from proof against the consequences of a looming authorities shutdown if congressional leaders fail to achieve an settlement earlier than midnight Oct. 1 to forestall one.
At stake for the U.S. area company if the federal authorities grinds to a halt? The progress of lots of its science missions and entry to its public outreach arm. NASA’s contingency plan for a shutdown, outlined in a guide from 2018, emphasizes that solely “activities which are necessary to prevent harm to life or property” could be exempt from ceasing operations throughout a shutdown.
That means the overwhelming majority of NASA’s staff could be despatched house with out pay and all however its most crucial operations – together with administration of the International Space Station – could be paused. The potential for a shutdown additionally comes because the company is already bracing for extreme funding cuts and layoffs beneath President Donald Trump’s price range proposal.
Reached by the USA TODAY Network, a spokesperson for the U.S. area company referred questions on a possible shutdown to a landing page on NASA.gov with the newest data, worker steering and extra.
“The appropriations course of is ongoing. All important and safety-critical NASA actions will stay operational,” the spokesperson mentioned in an emailed assertion.
Here’s the whole lot to learn about how NASA would really feel the consequences of a authorities shutdown.
Many NASA staff could be furloughed throughout authorities shutdown
Of greater than 18,000 staff employed at NASA, about 82.8% of them could be despatched house with out pay – or furloughed – throughout a goverment shutdown.
That’s in response to a plan outlined by NASA’s chief monetary officer and despatched Sept. 29 to the Office of Management and Budget, which administers the federal price range.
Without the full strength of its workforce, many of NASA’s activities would temporarily cease, including its educational outreach and many of the agency’s research programs. Until a shutdown were to come to an end, the public would also not be able to visit any NASA centers and facilities that provide tours or attractions, and would not be able to watch any programming or live coverage on the agency’s NASA+ streaming service.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida will remain open during the shutdown. That’s because the center does not receive taxpayer money, but is rather funded entirely by revenue from guests and operated by Delaware North on behalf of NASA.
International Space Station, satellites would remain operational
NASA would continue to operate the International Space Station and support astronauts living on the orbital outpost – including three Americans, three Russians and one Japanese astronaut.
In addition, NASA would maintain a workforce needed to monitor and operate a fleet of satellites in orbit.
Artemis lunar program would continue
The agency can also request exceptions for other operations it deems critical. And right now, an ongoing space race to the moon between the U.S. and China is considered among the most pressing missions.
That means that even if the government were to shut down, NASA’s ambitious Artemis campaign to return American astronauts to the surface of the moon would likely continue, as indicated in the updated contingency plan.
The agency recently revealed that the program’s first crewed mission, Artemis II, could launch anywhere between February and April 2026. The mission would send a crew of three Americans and one Canadian on a 10-day trip circling the moon ahead of Artemis III, the actual moon-landing mission targeted for 2027.
Americans have not stepped foot on the moon since NASA’s Apollo era came to an end in the 1970s.
Would rocket launches still happen from NASA sites during a shutdown?
For the most part, NASA’s spaceflight program would continue if the missions in question are “vital to guard life and property,” the plan outlined.
This would include ensuring that cargo resupply spacecraft – such as the Northrop Grumman spacecraft that recently reached the space station – continue to launch to the ISS as needed.
Moreover, NASA would send astronauts to the space station to replace those due to return to Earth as part of its crew rotation program. For instance, four astronauts on a NASA mission with SpaceX known as Crew-11 reached the ISS in July and are due to remain at the station for about six months total.
But if a NASA mission has not yet been launched, unfunded work would generally be suspended for the project until the shutdown is ended, according to NASA documents.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]
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