The options for NASA employees to voluntarily leave the agency to meet Trump Administration workforce reduction targets ended yesterday. NASA reports that just over 21 percent took the Deferred Resignation Program, about 3,000 employees. The agency estimates its remaining civil servant workforce will be about 14,000, a sharp reduction but still higher than the Administration’s target. Involuntary Reductions-in-Force (RIFs) may follow. The space community and Congress are concerned about how NASA will execute its programs with so much experience walking out the door especially since Congress is poised to reject the deep cuts to NASA proposed by President Trump.

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The House Appropriations Committee delayed markup of the FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill that was scheduled for today, but released the report detailing how the committee wants NASA to spend the $24.8 billion recommended by the CJS subcommittee last week. That would keep NASA at its current spending level and is $6 billion more than proposed by the Trump Administration. Among the many differences is continued funding for the Mars Sample Return mission that the Administration wants to terminate. Congressional staffers at a National Academies meeting today expressed concern, however, about whether money Congress appropriates will be spent as intended.

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On his second day on the job, Gen. Michael Guetlein said today he has been given 60 days to come up with an objective architecture for President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense shield. He is convinced the technology, including space-based interceptors, already exists to protect America from incoming missiles from multiple adversaries. Trump announced in May the system will be completed in three years, by the end of his term, at a cost of $175 billion, a timeline and cost far below other estimates.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 20-26, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

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The Senate Appropriations Committee is joining its House counterpart in opposing President Trump’s proposal to deeply cut NASA’s budget and modify the Artemis program. From human spaceflight to science to space technology to aeronautics to STEM engagement, the committee’s FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill essentially maintains NASA’s current funding and existing programs, although there is no mention of the Mars Sample Return mission. The House Appropriations CJS subcommittee similarly keeps NASA funding steady. While there are some differences, overall both sides of Capitol Hill appear aligned to preserve NASA. If enacted, the outcome will be far better than the Administration’s plan to cut NASA by 24.3 percent.

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The Senate Appropriations Committee completed consideration of the FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill that funds NOAA and NASA today. The committee rejected the Trump Administration’s proposal to terminate NOAA’s Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) designed to provide data to civil and commercial satellite operators to avoid collisions. A coalition of space industry associations urged Congress to continue funding it.

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The international Axiom-4 private astronaut crew splashed down off the coast of California early this morning.  After an almost two-week launch delay, Axiom Commander Peggy Whitson and astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary finally launched on June 25 and then spent 20 days in space, 18 aboard the International Space Station. …

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The House Appropriations Committee released the draft text of their version of the FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill that funds NASA today. Like their Senate counterpart, the House committee would essentially keep NASA at its current funding level instead of imposing the severe 24.3 percent budget cut proposed by the Trump Administration. The CJS bill also includes almost $2 million for a White House National Space Council even though the Trump Administration has yet to establish one.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of July 13-19, 2025 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session this week.

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The long-standing air leaks in a transfer tunnel on the Russian segment of the International Space Station have stabilized after recent Russian repairs. A NASA official said on Thursday that the leak rate now is “very small.” Testing to confirm the status of the leaks delayed the launch of the Axiom-4 private astronaut mission by almost two weeks last month. Axiom-4 is preparing to come home now as NASA’s Crew-11 gets ready to launch. At the briefing NASA also indicated they are leaning towards putting only cargo, not crew, on the next launch of Boeing’s Starliner to the ISS.

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