Cuts at NASA Goddard Center impact space telescope projects

According to Scientific American, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has lost a significant portion of its staff and infrastructure in recent years. Between March 2020 and January 2025, the number of employees and contractors at the center dropped from approximately 10,000 to 6,000, a 40 percent decrease. Although the agency has since rehired some, these changes pose a serious risk to the institution's ability to design and build major future space telescopes. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), NASA lost approximately 22 percent of its civil service staff during 2025, with these cuts affecting 25 of the agency's 36 major projects. The Goddard Center is of particular importance to space science, as it was where the famous James Webb and Nancy Grace Roman telescopes were designed and built. However, in November 2025, the laboratory that produced components for Roman and other instruments was closed, and the relevant engineering team was reduced from 30 people to just 7.

Infrastructure changes and safety issues

During periods of government shutdowns, the optical detector laboratory, the vacuum chamber for instrument testing, and mechanical workshops were also closed. The detector laboratory was later reopened. NASA representatives state that these changes have not deprived Goddard of its ability to create complex spacecraft. The agency explains the closure of certain facilities by their obsolescence or changes in operational models. For instance, the production of propulsion systems is now more efficiently handled by contracting private companies.

While independent audits showed no irregularities during the cuts, they noted increased uncertainty among staff. According to the former employees' association, the division responsible for safety and mission assurance lost nearly half of its specialists. For its part, NASA firmly maintains that test safety has not been compromised.

Future missions and NASEM assessment

Currently, there is no major flagship space observatory under active construction at the Goddard Center. Nevertheless, the center is participating in the preparation of the Habitable Worlds Observatory, designed to search for potentially habitable exoplanets, and is also working on the Dragonfly mission to Titan and the DAVINCI apparatus to study Venus. Center Director Jamie Dunn stated at an August meeting that the institution has begun to recover after a "troubling period."

The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has formed a special committee to assess the competence of specialists and the adequacy of infrastructure. NASEM's final report is expected to clearly show how many of the necessary specialists and equipment for next-generation complex space missions remain at the Goddard Center.