Congressional Letter: Concerns About DOGE at NASA

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Three Democratic Ranking Members of Congress wrote a letter to NASA’s acting Commissioner earlier today about the role of the “so called” Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at NASA. This letter followed a February 6th letter on the same issue, which received a less than open NASA response.

The letter expressed strong concerns about the activities of DOGE, including Elon Musk’s conflict of interest with the agency, and asked several questions it needed answered to feel more confident. This quote provides the general tenor of the letter:

While we appreciate the agency’s confirmation that a DOGE-affiliated individual (“DOGE Agent”) will be embedded inside NASA, that fact only sharpens our fears regarding DOGE’s potential to inflict harm – intentionally or unintentionally – on the agency and its mission. We must reiterate our deep alarm at this situation. Given DOGE’s destructive seizure of power throughout the federal government and the unique conflicts-of-interest that Elon Musk possesses with NASA, DOGE’s presence at the agency creates an unprecedented threat from within NASA’s own house. We are thus compelled to demand further explanation on a number of points related to DOGE’s relationship and activities with NASA. Complete transparency on the part of the agency is required. NASA must fully disclose the nature of its interactions with DOGE so the Committee can assess the full extent of the danger.

This does not sound like a normal conversation about a standard audit, which is already regularly done by the agency’s Inspector General. No, phrases such as “inflict harm,” “unprecedented threat,” and “full extent of the danger” shows we are dealing with a completely different situation.

Secret audits administered by a billionaire and his band of teenagers should not give anyone any sense of comfort or any confidence that the work will be above board. We appear to be going the route of Russia, but given the condition of its space program we may want to reconsider.

Let’s hope Congress keeps on pushing, even if half of the Congress remains asleep while the DOGE destruction continues.

Space Quotes: Are NASA’s Missions Already Threatened?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Testing of the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. (European Space Agency)

“NASA is about to lose a ton of experienced people who, up until now, have been considered a national asset.”

“Our immensely successful research enterprise is under attack.”

-Statement in a Washington Post article titled “Under Trump, NASA Meetings are On Hold and Missions are Up in the Air” pertaining to disruptions at NASA related to White House reforms (or general chaos if “reform” is too technical). The first quote is from an experienced engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The second quote is from Garth Illingworth, who is an astrophysicist at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is also one of the scientists who brought us the amazing James Webb Space Telescope.

U.S. Postal Service Stamps Highlight JWST Images

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Image (Credit): The U.S. Postal Service stamp featuring an image of star cluster IC 348 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (U.S. Postal Service)

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring NASA again with a set of stamps highlighting images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) – star cluster IC 348 (above) and spiral galaxy NGC 628 (below).

Regarding star cluster IC 348, NASA notes:

The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. This scene is located 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus.

Regarding spiral galaxy NGC 628, NASA explains:

Webb’s observations combine near- and mid-infrared light to reveal glowing gas and dust in stark shades of orange and red, as well as finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges. This galaxy is located 32 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces. 

I would have preferred these stamps were regular first class forever stamps so that they would grace personal letters and birthday cards traveling to every corner of this country, but this is a nice gesture however you look at it.

Image (Credit): The U.S. Postal Service stamp highlighting an image of the spiral galaxy NGC 628 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (U.S. Postal Service)

NASA Staff Flee and DOGE Starts its Audit – What Could Go Wrong?

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Credit: Image by succo from Pixabay

The Associated Press reports that “hundreds” of NASA employees have decided to leave the agency. This follows layoffs last year at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as well as recently announced layoffs at Boeing associated with the Space Launch System. This does not instill confidence in NASA’s ability to meet its upcoming mission goals.

The same report notes that NASA will now be undergoing an review by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which recently decided to dump all foreign assistance based on false stories and an incomplete understanding of the role of foreign aid in our foreign policy. What is the chance that Musk, who will be involved in the DOGE review no matter what the White House states, will find merit in contracts to SpaceX while questioning other contracts?

If this was Russia, we would roll our eyes at such sham reviews. Why are we accepting it here? Is there any interest in good science, or is NASA like the oil industry in Russia – something useful to line the pockets of the connected?

Maybe its time to leave the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) to one side and start asking whether intelligent life is something quickly disappearing here on Earth. Though it may be worth noting that even SETI funding was cut by the Republican Congress years ago.

Boeing Layoffs are Bad News for NASA’s Artemis Program

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Image (Credit): Boeing’s Space Launch System. (NASA)

As if things could not get worse over at NASA, it now has to contend with Boeing’s financial problems. Boeing is considering laying off about 400 employees working on the Space Launch System (SLS), or about one third of the employees working on the system. The SLS is the backbone of the Artemis program returning the U.S. to the Moon and eventually Mars.

This follows problems last year with Boeing’s Starliner mission to the International Space Station. The two astronauts on the first manned Starliner mission are still on the station due to safety concerns about their return to Earth on the same spacecraft that brought them to the station.

None of this portends well for Boeing, NASA, or the space industry in general. This may simply throw more work towards SpaceX, making NASA more reliant on a company whose head seems more interesting in tearing down the U.S. government than focusing on the U.S. space mission. Besides, after the loss of the latest Starship, SpaceX is not in any position to replace what would be lost with the SLS. The end of the SLS may simply mean the end of any chance for the U.S. to beat China to the Moon.

This may serve the interests of Elon Musk, who always preferred going Mars, but given the lack of preparation for such a mission beyond a rocket (including lessons learned from the Artemis program), it seems even the Mars mission may be drifting into the sunset.

We need a strong NASA and clear mission priorities that are achievable in the short term. With a billionaire tourist taking over as NASA’s new leader, we need to be very careful NASA does not simply become another Dancing with the Stars for C-list celebrity wannabes.