Elucubrazioni sulla NASA e lo spazio nell'amministrazione Trump 2

[Me99]

@Me99

@Saimoncis

The President proposes, but the Congress disposes.

IMO, sotto questa amministrazione vale solo parzialmente, anche per il profilo “defilato” che ha mantenuto il Congresso fino a ora. Si veda il famigerato “impoundment” a inizio legislatura e tutti i tagli a personale e strutture realizzati da DOGE e OMB.

E infatti, sembra che ci siamo di nuovo.

La notizia via Politico (dietro paywall):

POLITICO Pro: White House withholds NASA science funds

The Office of Management and Budget is withholding money for NASA’s science missions, a move that bucks Congress and goes against a funding bill signed into law.

Officials have directed the space agency to pause funds for a host of science missions the White House originally pushed to cancel in its 2026 budget request, according to an email sent to the agency’s centers from NASA headquarters and obtained by POLITICO.

The email didn’t explain why the administration is holding funds, which are limited to science missions, but Trump has sought to slash federal funds for scientific research and climate-change related activities. The missions listed in the email include key programs that study the Earth, climate-related efforts and programs that study other planets in the universe.

NASA Watch ha pubblicato il memo inviato dall’OMB.

Some SMD Activities Paused Pending OMB Guidance

From: NASA HQ [REDACTED]
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2026
To: OCFO-DL-Enterprise-CFOs
Cc: Center CFOS [REDACTED]
Subject: Guidance to Limit Commitments in Advance of SMD Apportionment

Center CFOs,

The following direction is provided in advance of incoming OMB guidance and applies until further notice.

With the exception of payroll charges, please pause all activities that would create new financial commitments on the Science projects listed below using the SCEX22026D fund. This includes, but is not limited to, contract actions, credit card purchases, and travel requests. This guidance applies only to program year (PY) 2026 funding; PY 2025 is not restricted. […]

[Saimoncis]

@Me99

Chiude la biblioteca del Goddard

Torno sull’argomento perché è stata aperta una causa legale per impedire la chiusura e la distruzione dei documenti.

Lawsuit Filed Over Goddard Library Closure

[Me99]

Nell’ambito delle missioni di classe Explorer, AXIS - Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) - il telescopio spaziale che avrebbe dovuto proseguire il lavoro di Chandra, non è stato ammesso alla fase di review.

Ethan Siegel ha dedicato un lungo articolo alla vicenda:

NASA's next X-ray mission, AXIS, has been killed

Unfortunately, on Monday, March 9, 2026, NASA HQ informed the entire AXIS team that:

• their mission is not eligible for selection,
• their submitted Concept Study Report will not be subjected to the full review process,
• and that this decision was entirely programmatic, without concern for the technology or science of the mission.

This effectively sets X-ray astronomy back by a decade, with the earliest realistic timeline for an X-ray flagship now looking like the 2050s or even 2060s.

Secondo il project leader, il progetto è stato vittima dell’instabilità interna all’agenzia causata dai prepensionamenti e dalla proposta di budget della Casa Bianca a cui il Goddard si era adeguato in anticipo.

NASA project leader blames next-generation X-ray telescope cancellation on...

“It seemed like every week there was an announcement that someone was leaving the AXIS team due to retirement or finding a different job, all because of the uncertainty with NASA funding and the truly chaotic environment at GSFC,” the scientist said.

The project lost more than 20 GSFC personnel with key expertise as a result of NASA’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and reorganizations to align with the 2026 presidential budget request, according to Reynolds’ email, and faced further complications caused by the government shutdown last year.

“Work was halted for almost seven weeks when the core GSFC AXIS study team, dominated by NASA civil servants, was furloughed,” Reynolds said.

La mail è stata resa pubblica:

Laura Lopez (@ohdearz.bsky.social)

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NSF. Due grafici che illustrano l’andamento dei grant assegnati dall’NSF, via Jeremy Berg.

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@Me99

L’amministrazione ha annunciato l’intenzione di smantellare il National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

L’UCAR, l’ente che gestisce il NCAR (cfr. Elucubrazioni sulla NASA e lo spazio nell'amministrazione Trump 2 - n°587 da Me99), ha iniziato una causa legale contro diverse agenzie federali.

UCAR statement on lawsuit filed against federal administrative agencies | NCAR...

UCAR today filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the United States Department of Commerce (DOC); the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and their respective directors in their official capacity.

[…] The lawsuit alleges violations of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act arising from several adverse actions taken by federal agencies over the last several months directed against NCAR and UCAR. The lawsuit requests the court to stop implementation of the actions, declare the actions unlawful, and issue an injunction to prevent further harm to NCAR and UCAR’s operations and mission.

[Vespiacic]

A seguito dell’operazione Furia Epica e della conseguente reazione iraniana in Qatar, è venuta a manca la seconda fonte mondiale di forniture di elio.
Per l’astronautica l’elio è fondamentale, gli Usa sono il maggior produttore al mondo, quindi per i loro lanci nazionali c’è solo un forte aumento di prezzi, ma gli altri operatori potrebbero avere carenza nella fornitura.