NASA Is Losing Most Experienced 10% of Its Civilian Employees

July 12—According to Politico’s review of documents, “At least 2,145 senior-ranking NASA employees are set to leave under a push to shed staff, according to documents obtained by Politico … depriving the agency of decades of experience…. The losses are spread across each of NASA’s 10 regional centers, including the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and will impact everything from planning astronaut missions to the moon to sending out deep space probes.”

These are mainly people who took the buyouts and early retirements offered out by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in February, “those in GS-13 to GS-15 positions—senior-level government ranks that are typically reserved for those with specialized skills or management responsibilities. The losses are particularly concentrated at higher levels, with 875 GS-15 employees set to leave, according to the documents,” reported Politico.

As of the start of this year, NASA had about 18,000 civilian employees, so this is a loss of more than 10%, hitting the senior, most experienced 10% of all its employees. This will destroy the continuity of existing programs and prevent the effective implementation of future advanced missions.