Maryland Delegation Presses NASA on Goddard Closings, NASA Replies to Lofgren

The Democratic members of the Maryland congressional delegation have written to Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy asking for an explanation of reported laboratory and other facility closures at Goddard Space Flight Center. Their letter follows one from the top Democrat on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), on Monday. NASA responded to her today disputing that anything inappropriate is taking place.

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is located in Greenbelt, MD just outside Washington DC.  Both Maryland Senators and seven of the eight House members are Democrats. Sen. Chris Van Hollen is a protégé of former Sen. Barbara Mikulski who vigorously defended Goddard and its programs from cutbacks over several decades. GSFC also manages Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, VA and the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility in Fairmont, WV.

Sent yesterday, the Maryland letter parallels Lofgren’s in highlighting the critical work done at Goddard in space and earth science and what the nation will lose if that capability disappears especially as competition with China heats up.

“We can and must re-invest in the people and centers that make America the global space leader and that starts with Goddard.”
— Democratic Maryland Congressional Delegation

Noting they “lack clarity at to what moves are taking place,” the delegation poses a series of questions and requests answers by Monday, November 17. They include when NASA finalized plans to consolidate buildings at the Goddard campus and why, what facilities changes have taken place in 2025, whether any technological capabilities have been impacted, and how many civil servants were called back to the Center during the shutdown “for the purposes of packing up their offices or laboratories.”

Lofgren’s Monday letter demanded answers within 24 hours although the next day was a federal holiday, Veterans Day. NASA replied today, Friday, two days after the 43-day government shutdown ended. Instead of Duffy, the letter is signed by Cynthia Simmons, Acting Goddard Center Director, and Nicky Fox, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. Most of Goddard’s work is for SMD.

Simmons and Fox assert the idea that “Goddard is being shut down or dismantled … could not be further from the truth.” Instead, efforts to reduce costs at Goddard’s campuses began more than five years ago “and specific planning for consolidation efforts at the Greenbelt campus began in June 2023.”

This ongoing work will make Goddard better positioned to lead the development, integration, and testing of NASA Science flight missions, and will reduce approximately $10 million a year in the center’s annual operating costs while also avoiding approximately $64 million in deferred maintenance costs. This work is being carefully coordinated with the mission project managers of the critical missions currently in development to avoid impacting schedule and/or increasing costs. In many cases, waiting to reconfigure laboratories or technical workspaces would unnecessarily delay program work and increase mission cost. — Cynthia Simmons and Nicky Fox, NASA

Lofgren’s letter particularly raised concerns about a propulsion laboratory that Goddard staff was told only last week had to be emptied by this Wednesday that is critical to completion of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Science Committee Democratic staff said NASA notified them on Wednesday that a propulsion laboratory in Building 11 is indeed being emptied as part of the relocation activities and is directly involved in the development of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as well as the Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan.  The Simmons-Fox letter does not specifically address that issue, saying only that all the changes at Goddard are “in alignment with NASA Science Mission Directorate leadership and are designed to position Goddard for the future and protect ongoing missions, many of which are in pursuit of key decadal priorities and Congressional direction.”