On Sunday at 11:30AM, Dragon Con’s Space Track brought together a slate of recent NASA staff to talk about working at NASA, which saw a new Administrator—and even wildfires—shake things up at the storied agency this year. A.C. Charania, Scott G. Edgington, Les Johnson, Trina L. Ray, and Kim Steadman provided insight into not just the challenges but also their potential long-term effects:
External forces (aka the wildfires in California): The year 2025 started with a flash, quite literally, when the January wildfires in southern California spread to the edge of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). One panelist noted more than 300 people working at JPL lost homes in the area, and colleagues stepped up to cover for them as they took time off to handle personal matters. The Lab itself was in the path of flames—buildings had to be powered down—but was saved by multiple aerial drops of water.
New administration: Every new administration comes with a certain level of staff turnover as political appointees are replaced by nominees from the incoming president. The changing of the guard, so to speak, has long been part of all federal agencies, but in 2025, this rockier-than-normal process caused uncertainty and disrupted the cycle of business (e.g., budget planning). The uncertainty and disruption have had a ripple effect. One panelist noted that his whole office, which typically supports the NASA Administrator, was eliminated in an atypical move.
Brain drain: All federal employees received an email (i.e., “the fork in the road”) in early 2025 asking them to consider resigning or face mass layoffs. The layoffs came and many people were let go unceremoniously. Panelists noted both the mental and emotional toll of losing smart, trusted colleagues or mentees meant to one day replace them. One panelist noted that Marshall Space Flight Center alone lost about 500 of its 2,300 staff. Another noted that rebuilding the pipeline of rising, younger individuals could take up to 40 years.
Policy changes: After the COVID pandemic, the U.S. Government (USG) instituted a telework policy, which brought in talent as people did not have to relocate. The new administration rescinded this policy, causing many to lose their jobs by default. This type of policy, along with others, created a culture shift internally. But panelists noted change is an inevitable facet of any job and many things feed the “culture of community”; however, several “new” policies have accelerated cultural changes at NASA.
Budget cuts and the FY26 budget request: The current administration has asked to cut NASA’s budget by 24%, and this means scrapping programs or research areas wholesale. Cutting full workstreams, such as earth sciences as was initially asked of NASA, would lead to a “depreciation of fundamental research,” one panelist noted, going so far as to say the U.S. could potentially lose its leadership in science related to space exploration altogether.
Shifting priorities, cancelled work: Every administration has its own priorities, and NASA has its own wish list. They rarely align perfectly, but the administration’s priorities paired with their requested budget cuts means fully cancelled programs and workstreams, some irreplaceable. One panelist noted that spacecraft can be “put to sleep,” but a “shut down” spacecraft is unrecoverable.
China: China’s space program is NASA’s major, de facto competition, and challenge is a natural part of that competition. But, given all the above changes and complications at NASA, China will most likely beat the U.S. back to the moon and beyond, one panelist noted. China is also now positioned to develop stronger partnerships with other space agencies who, through their own collaborations with NASA, are feeling the changes and challenges afoot.
The panelists also offered hope:
Incredible missions, including the series of Artemis missions meant to put humans and a space station on the moon, are still on the docket.
Even with budget and program cuts, NASA still does more than all other space agencies (e.g., European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, etc.) combined, and partnerships between NASA and these agencies are strong.
Despite Elon Musk’s controversial role in the USG in early 2025, his company SpaceX has long cooperated with NASA, and their collaboration has not changed. SpaceX is slated to launch the Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan and the Clipper to Jupiter’s moon Europa. Private industry has always partnered with NASA, so SpaceX’s involvement is normal.
Everyone has agency. As an offer of general hope, the panelists reminded the audience everyone can choose what is best for them, and they can choose how, where, and when they want to effect change to improve the world.
Thank you to Charania, Edgington, Johnson, Ray, and Steadman—and all federal employees—who have spent their careers making America great through their work at NASA.
