NASA is moving quickly to consolidate up to a quarter of its suburban Maryland campus.<\/p>\n
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers told its members in a recent issue brief that the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is embarking on plans to close 13 buildings on the west side of its campus.<\/p>\n
According to the union, the building closures began Sept. 23 and continued through the recent government shutdown. IFPTE said the consolidation of NASA Goddard\u2019s campus includes plans to \u201cempty\u201d or \u201cdisplace\u201d nearly 100 laboratories \u2014 and in some cases, \u201cdiscard unique and valuable labs, equipment, and materials.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s master plan for its Goddard campus<\/a> calls for a 25% reduction of its square footage by 2037. NASA released the master plan in February 2022.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n Democratic lawmakers are warning NASA about the pace of this consolidation work, and raising concerns that relocating these labs could set back\u00a0research projects across the campus.<\/p>\n Senior NASA leaders, however, say campus consolidation is urgent and will help the agency save tens of millions of dollars by closing unnecessary buildings.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center is the nation\u2019s largest organization of scientists and engineers who build spacecraft, as well as tools to study Earth, the sun, the solar system and the universe.<\/p>\n According to IFPTE, NASA expects the buildings marked for closure to be emptied out by March 2026, \u201ca deadline that can only result in significant harm or destruction to NASA\u2019s strategic capabilities and critical NASA missions.\u201d The union said NASA called in Goddard campus employees and contractors during the recent government shutdown to move their equipment and belongings.<\/p>\n \u201cThe unplanned and hasty nature of the action is poised to result in the loss of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded laboratory facilities, including sophisticated and high-value equipment that will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace,\u201d IPFTE told its members.<\/p>\n IPFTE said it\u2019s not clear whether this work was deemed exempt from the shutdown, or whether the consolidation activities violated the Antideficiency Act.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some instances, employees have been recalled from furlough status and given 48 hours to pack up their offices under threat of having their personal belongings thrown away or mishandled,\u201d the union told members.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n House Science, Space and Technology Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) called on NASA to \u201cimmediately halt\u201d all building closures and relocation activities. Lofgren said committee staff were told that additional Goddard facilities would be emptied out as soon as Nov. 12.<\/p>\n Lofgren told NASA\u2019s acting administrator Sean Duffy, who is also the Secretary of Transportation, that the pace of consolidation could \u201cirreversibly degrade critical functions supporting NASA\u2019s flight missions,\u201d damage specialized equipment and \u201cpermanently kneecap the agency.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe agency\u2019s hastily planned moves and closures \u2013 some of which I understand are already well underway \u2013 risk causing significant delays for multi-billion-dollar missions under development,\u201d Lofgren wrote in a Nov. 10 letter.<\/a><\/p>\n Lofgren said the consolidation plans would impact a propulsion lab that is \u201cmission-critical\u201d for the completion of the Roman Space Telescope, one of NASA\u2019s flagship scientific missions.<\/p>\n \u201cI fully recognize the challenges of NASA\u2019s aging infrastructure and the need to modernize and improve the agency\u2019s centers. But that is far from what is happening at Goddard today,\u201d Lofgren wrote. She said she will ask NASA\u2019s inspector general to investigate the Goddard campus consolidation plans.<\/p>\n NASA leadership, however, told Lofgren that claims NASA Goddard is being shut down or dismantled \u201ccould not be further from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Cynthia Simmons, the acting director of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, and Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA\u2019s science mission directorate, told Lofgren that rising operations and maintenance costs and a static budget \u201chave forced NASA to implement efforts to ensure the center\u2019s long-term viability through more efficiently utilizing available space and consolidating or reconstituting facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n They said efforts to reduce operations and maintenance costs at other campuses started over five years ago, and that plans for consolidation efforts at the Greenbelt campus began in June 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cThis ongoing work will make Goddard better positioned to lead the development, integration, and testing of NASA Science flight missions,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n Simmons and Fox said the campus consolidation will cut Goddard\u2019s annual operating costs by $10 million, and would avoid $64 million in deferred maintenance costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThis work is being carefully coordinated with the mission project managers of the critical missions currently in development to avoid impacting schedule and\/or increasing costs. In many cases, waiting to reconfigure laboratories or technical workspaces would unnecessarily delay program work and increase mission cost,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n NASA, much like the rest of the federal government, has been funded through a continuing resolution for about the past two years \u2014 meaning its budget is locked in at spending levels set in fiscal 2024.<\/p>\n Simmons and Fox said these CRs, combined with rising operations and maintenance costs over a prolonged period, have forced NASA to ensure the campus\u2019s \u201clong-term viability through more efficiently utilizing available space and consolidating or reconstituting facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n NASA also is funded at current spending levels through Jan. 30, 2026. Its safety, security and mission services budget, which includes building and infrastructure spending, is likely to remain unchanged in a fiscal 2026 funding bill.<\/p>\n IPFTE, however, says these building closures \u201care themselves extremely costly and wasteful.\u201d The union says the labs impacted by the consolidation are also by other federal agencies, universities, and private-sector companies.<\/p>\n Lawmakers from Maryland are also raising concerns about the Goddard campus consolidation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that any consolidation on the Greenbelt campus must sustain the world-class capabilities of Goddard for future science and exploration missions and comply with all applicable laws,\u201d they wrote in a letter to NASA\u2019s leadership.<\/a><\/p>\n Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and with Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), April McClain Delaney (D-Md.), and Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.) say thousands of NASA employees at the Goddard campus have left this year, both through layoffs and voluntary separation incentives.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, actions taken during the last nine months threaten the workers at Goddard and their ability to lead the world in this science and exploration,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.<\/p>\n