NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland is facing controversy over the potential closure of the building.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, home to iconic missions such as the Hubble Telescope and the James Webb Telescope, is embroiled in controversy over its possible closure.
For months, workers, advocates and lawmakers have been steadily sounding the alarm about alarming changes occurring at Goddard College’s main campus in Greenbelt, Maryland. Campus building closures reportedly increased when many employees were absent during the government shutdown, sparking outrage with unions arguing it would be a significant loss to America’s spaceflight ambitions.
“The hastily planned relocation and closure of government agencies, some of which I understand are already well underway, risks significant delays to a multibillion-dollar mission in development,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said last month.
NASA downplayed the concerns in a public statement, insisting that the actions at Goddard were in line with plans laid out years ago.
Here’s everything you need to know about Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA’s plans to close or consolidate some of the buildings there.
What is Goddard Space Flight Center?
Goddard Space Flight Center, located just outside Washington, DC, is one of NASA’s main centers for space research. Goddard bills itself as home to “the nation’s largest organization of scientists, engineers, and technicians” dedicated to designing and building instruments to study Earth and the surrounding universe.
Named after American rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard, the center was established in 1959 as NASA’s first spaceflight facility.
To this day, Goddard manages operations for the iconic Hubble Space Telescope and is where its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, was developed ahead of its 2021 launch.
At Goddard, scientists and engineers are also putting the finishing touches on the even more powerful Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The nearly completed telescope has high hopes of changing our understanding of how the universe began.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch by May 2027, and could launch as early as fall 2026, NASA announced on November 25.
Is NASA shutting down Goddard? What you need to know
As the government shutdown began in October, concerns began to grow that NASA had begun dismantling Goddard’s major laboratories and offices. The measure prompted accusations that it was a premature implementation of President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, which has not yet been approved by Congress, according to multiple reports, including Space.com and CNN.
The small number of workers who remained on site during the closure reported witnessing or participating in the removal and disposal of specialized equipment and other items, according to the report. The Goddard Society of Engineers, Scientists, and Technicians (GESTA) said in a statement on Nov. 25 that it is aware that 13 buildings at the center, including about 100 laboratories, are on track to close by a March 2026 deadline with little notice to employees.
GESTA said in a Nov. 14 brief that the deadline “would only cause damage or destruction to NASA’s strategic capabilities and could impact current and future NASA missions,” and that “unplanned and hasty actions could result in the loss of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded experimental facilities, including sophisticated and expensive equipment that would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace.”
But NASA officials said in a statement to multiple media outlets that the move is part of a 20-year master plan to improve the Maryland campus through renovation and demolition. Leaders said the changes are aimed at cutting costs but are not expected to delay or cancel ongoing projects.
The USA TODAY Network left a message with NASA’s media office on Wednesday, Dec. 3, seeking more information.
Congressional leaders want answers
But some Congressional leaders are not convinced by NASA’s explanation.
And they are taking action to prevent further action by the space agency, at least for the time being.
A Nov. 10 letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, called on NASA to “cease” the closure of Goddard Station.
The letter at the time, addressed to NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy, gave the U.S. space agency 24 hours to respond confirming the operation had been suspended.
Maryland’s entire Democratic Congressional delegation also sent a letter to Duffy demanding answers.
In a letter dated Nov. 13, the lawmakers gave Duffy until Nov. 17 to answer a series of questions, including “voluntary departures, deferred resignations, and troop reductions” at Goddard.
NASA Inspector General’s Office Requests Investigation
Lofgren has since sent two more letters, one dated Nov. 21 and the latest on Tuesday, Dec. 2, outlining his plans to ask NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate the integration efforts at Goddard.
A Nov. 21 letter signed by Lofgren and other Democrats on the committee slams NASA’s closure of Goddard, calling it “not prudent, prudent, honest, or reasonable.”
“While Mr. Goddard’s challenge is real, we find it difficult to see any justification for suggesting a sudden crisis that requires drastic and chaotic intervention on a timeline of months, weeks, or even days,” the letter continued. “But that is what NASA is claiming to justify its actions in recent months and clearly for the foreseeable future.”
An OIG spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by USA TODAY Network on Wednesday, Dec. 3.
Eric Lagatta is a Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact elagatta@gannett.com.
