NOAA Hit Hard by DOGE Layoffs

NOAA is the latest federal agency hit hard by layoffs ordered by the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) spearheaded by Elon Musk. The office that issues licenses to companies operating commercial remote sensing satellites, part of the Office of Space Commerce, no longer has any senior personnel to do that job, for example.  Court challenges are underway against other DOGE firings. The situation at NOAA and elsewhere in the federal government is one of disarray.

The Trump Administration ordered the layoffs of probationary employees — those in their jobs for less than one year or in some cases two — at NOAA yesterday.

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is part of the Department of Commerce and has a wide range of responsibilities from weather forecasting to fisheries management to coastal restoration to operating the nation’s weather satellites and monitoring space weather.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee that oversees NOAA, said in a press release that at least 880 personnel were let go.

Cantwell voted against Howard Lutnick’s confirmation as Secretary of Commerce in part because of his “tepid support” for NOAA during his nomination hearing.  He was confirmed by the Senate on party lines, 51-45, on February 18.

Two top Democrats on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee expressed concern as well. Rep. Zoe Lofren (D-CA), Ranking Member of the full committee, warned the cuts “will cost American lives” and Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Environment Subcommittee, added they will “inevitably lead to additional chaos and confusion.”

Impacts already are being felt in the space sector. The Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA) office regulates commercial remote sensing satellites. Companies that have or need licenses for their systems received an email notifying them that “no senior personnel remain in the office” and NOAA’s Office of General Counsel will deal with them for an indefinite period of time. They were alerted to “expect significant delays in processing all actions.”

CRSRA is part of the Office of Space Commerce (OSC), which has spent the last couple of years building up its staff to respond to new responsibilities including developing a space situational awareness (SSA) system for civil and commercial satellite operators to keep track of where all the satellites are and issue collision warnings. Approximately 10,000 active satellites are in orbit right now — about 7,000 of which are Musk’s Starlink broadband internet satellites — along with tens of thousands of pieces of space debris.

Historically DOD tracks satellites and publishes unclassified data on their locations on a public website, Space-Track.org. In 2018 during his first term, President Trump directed the Department of Commerce to take over responsibility for doing that for the non-military satellite sector. The task was assigned to the OSC. Initial testing of the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) began on September 30, 2024.

Work on TraCSS is continuing at least for now. Today OSC invited industry to comment on a draft work statement for a Collision Avoidance Gap Pathfinder with comments due March 15.

However, OSC also today canceled a planned meeting of their Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space (ACES) scheduled for next Wednesday.

Many of OSC’s employees are still in their probationary period because the office has only been building up its capabilities in the last two years. Richard DalBello, a political appointee, headed the office from April 2022 until the change in administrations last month. His deputy, Janice Starzyk, is Acting Director now. She joined OSC in November 2023 and reportedly is still in her position today.

NOAA also operates the nation’s civil weather satellites through the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS).  NOAA declined to confirm the status of the OSC workforce, but did tell SpacePolicyOnline.com that Steve Volz continues to head NESDIS and is also the Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction.

 

 

The legality of mass government layoffs remains under review in a number of court cases. Whether any of the NOAA workers will be able to return is unclear.