IT HAPPENED! NASA is in Big Trouble after 4000 workers leaving...SpaceX can Help

This has never happened before. NASA has just gone through the two biggest waves of layoffs in its history, cutting up to 4,000 employees in July, all because of a new round of brutal budget cuts. And that's not the end. If there aren't more people quitting in August, NASA may have to force even more workers out. And the final number could be much higher than you think. So, how bad will the fallout be? Could this be the beginning of the end for NASA's biggest missions, Artemis, SLS, and even the ISS? Let's dive into today's episode of Alpha Tech. July 2025 marked one of the darkest moments in NASA's history when it comes to staffing. It all started when the new administration proposed a massive budget cut, slashing NASA's funding by 24 to 25%. from $24.9 billion in 2025 down to just $18.8 billion for 2026. The cuts were aimed squarely at space science programs, including climate research, nuclear rocket engine development, the Mars sample return mission, and the lunar gateway project. As a result, entire teams working on these projects were left in limbo under pressure and fully aware that layoffs were just a matter of time. And even though the final budget still needs approval from Congress, the damage has already begun. Waves of resignations have already hit the agency as employees brace for what's next. NASA had already begun small-scale layoffs earlier in 2025. In March, the agency disbanded the office of the chief scientist and laid off 23 employees, including Dr. Katherine Calvin, one of NASA's top climate scientists. And then came the real shocker, the second wave in early July. At least 2,140 senior NASA employees were forced to leave. Yeah, you heard that right. This was the biggest layoff in NASA's entire history. Well, it's not just a number. This wave could seriously mess with the White House's space policy and wipe out decades worth of brain power and experience. So, who exactly are these people? They weren't interns or newbies. We're talking about highlevel positions from GS13 to GS15. That means folks with seven to 10 years of experience earning salaries between 120,000 to $160,000 a year and working on the most complex and sensitive missions NASA has. Worse still, 875 of them were GS15s, the absolute top tier experts and managers in the agency. Losing that many senior level minds at once, it's like pulling the foundation out from under a skyscraper. And get this, these 2,145 people made up most of the 2,694 civil servants who agreed to walk away voluntarily. NASA had no choice but to offer early retirement, buyouts, and even delayed exit deals just to meet the government's target for cutting staff. And just one week ago, at the very end of July, things got even worse. New data showed that 3,870 NASA employees have now left, making up over 20% of the AY's entire workforce. Think about that. Nearly 4,000 people were laid off in just one month. Behind each of them is a family to care for. It's not just a statistic. It's a real human crisis. But NASA didn't let everyone just walk out the door. They launched something called the Delayed Resignation Program or DRP. It allows employees to leave but stay on paid administrative leave until their agreed exit date. Kind of a soft landing. According to NASA news chief Cheryl Warner, the first round of DRP closed in February and about 870 employees. That's 4.8% of the workforce signed up. Then came round two, which just ended last Friday. This time around 3,000 more people joined another 16.4% of NASA's total staff. So, yeah, NASA's already lost 20% of its workforce, but do you think that's enough? Not even close. The White House's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 demands a 29% workforce cut. That's around 5,000 people based on current numbers. Which means if not enough employees leave voluntarily this August, forced layoffs are coming. And people know it. That's why many have already decided to leave on their own. Better to go now than wait for the axe to fall. It's like a slowmoving wave and everyone's just trying not to get swallowed by it. Things have gotten so bad it's even sparked protests. The most recent one, July 20th, 2025, right in Washington DC, across from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. And on the 56th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing, no less, NASA employees, contractors, and supporters gathered to speak out against the science budget cuts and the mass exodus of staff. People held signs that read, "Save NASA." And many voiced deep concern about the loss of institutional knowledge as veteran engineers and scientists walked away. Because this isn't just a staffing issue. This is a brain drain. a full-on loss of talent that could take years, even decades to recover from. And the real danger, all those billion-dollar projects, the ones NASA's been building for years, could end up dead in the water if the people who designed them are suddenly gone. According to sources, around 41 current missions, nearly a third of NASA's entire science portfolio, are now at risk of being cancelled or losing funding altogether. Let's start with one of the biggest, the Mars Sample Return, or MSR. This was supposed to bring back rock and soil samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars, a mission estimated to cost over $7 billion. But under the 2026 budget proposal, MSR is being completely scrapped. Why? Too expensive, not financially sustainable. NASA says future Mars missions might take over its role, but cancelling MSR means we lose our best shot at directly studying Martian material. It also puts the US behind in the space race, especially with China developing its own Mars sample return program. And let's not forget, SpaceX was counting on those samples to test how Martian soil could be turned into fuel for future human missions. This cut hits hard. Next up, Lunar Gateway. The planned space station in orbit around the moon and a key piece of the Aremis puzzle. NASA has already poured $3.5 billion into it. But now it's either being cancelled outright or possibly handed off to another party for repurposing. And the cuts don't stop there. NASA's decadesl long effort to develop nuclear propulsion is also on the chopping block. In early June, the White House and NASA quietly confirmed the news. Those projects are being eliminated. A technical note in the budget spells it out clearly. This budget provides no funding for nuclear thermal propulsion or nuclear electric propulsion programs. The reason? Too expensive, too far off, and not essential for near-term missions. Among the biggest casualties is Draco, a groundbreaking mission to test a nuclear thermal rocket in space for the very first time. NASA had partnered with DARPA, the Pentagon's high-tech research agency, but now DARPA has confirmed it's over. Loheed Martin, who was selected as the prime contractor for the spacecraft in 2023, received official notice that Draco is being cancelled. BWX Technologies, which was developing the actual nuclear reactor, is also affected. Why does this matter? Because Draco was supposed to change the game. Nuclear thermal propulsion combines the power of chemical engines with the efficiency of solar electric systems. It would have used high assay lowenriched uranium to fuel a compact nuclear reactor perfect for fast long distance missions like getting humans to Mars. Now it's gone. And as Loheed Martin said in a statement, "We're disappointed, but it doesn't change our vision. Nuclear power will shape how we explore deep space." Still, not all hope is lost. NASA isn't abandoning the technology altogether. Loheed Martin, already deeply involved in Draco, will continue leading efforts to push NTP forward. A key test is planned for 2027 to assess how well the engine performs in space, generating thrust, maintaining a stable fision reaction, and handling liquid hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures over long periods. In response to the cuts, all of NASA's former science division heads issued a rare joint statement urging the government to reconsider. These proposed cuts would force the US to abandon key international partners who have made major contributions to America's space science missions, they wrote. Meanwhile, the administration is already moving ahead with plans to cancel these missions even before the 2026 budget bill is officially signed into law. That could happen as soon as October 1st, the start of the next fiscal year in the US. So from that point on, will major projects like SLS and Orion under the Artemis program or even the future of the ISS be at risk, too? And the answer is absolutely yes. As we know, NASA is facing unprecedented budget cuts and mass layoffs on a scale we've never seen before. The Aremis 2 crew is already feeling the impact. Commander Reed Wiseman recently spoke to the press, acknowledging the losses while also reassuring the public that the mission is still moving forward. "We've said goodbye to some really good friends," he said. "But at the end of the day, we absolutely have the team across the board right now to finish." But the problem goes far beyond just the astronauts feelings. It's also about the very spacecraft they'll be flying in. Under the Trump administration's proposed budget plan, there's a push to retire both the SLS and Orion systems after Artemis 2 and 3, the two missions that are set to take astronauts to the moon surface by around mid2027. After that, NASA would shift to using commercial systems that are considered more cost effective, like SpaceX's Starship or other vehicles from the private sector. The main reason, massive costs and budget overruns. Each SLS launch comes with a jaw-dropping price tag of about $4 billion. The entire SLS program has exceeded its initial budget by around $140%. With development costs estimated between 23 to 24 billion, and Orion adds another $20 billion on top of that. That's why switching to Starship makes financial sense. Not only is it significantly cheaper with each flight projected to cost under $10 million, but it's also fully reusable and even more powerful. However, shutting down SLS and Orion after Artemis 3 could seriously disrupt the long-term road map of the Artemis program, especially for missions from Artemis 4 onward, which were supposed to use the upgraded SLS block 1B and the new mobile launcher 2 to deliver modules for the lunar gateway station. That gateway station, by the way, is now rumored to be scrapped. A possible replacement. The Haven module from Vast, a company that's been quickly advancing plans for a new space station to both succeed the aging ISS and potentially out compete China's Tangong station. That said, it's not all grim for SLS and Orion. Progress has actually been picking up lately. Artemis 2 is now targeting a launch in February 2026, thanks in part to Mobile Launcher 2. On July 2nd, the ML2 structure completed installation of its 10th and final tower module, a big milestone for the upgraded SLS Block 1B system. So, what about the ISS? Steve Stitch, head of NASA's commercial crew program, recently said that NASA engineers are working with SpaceX to ensure that the Dragon spacecraft can stay in orbit for up to 8 months. Right now, it's only certified for seven, though that limit has already been waved for one extended mission. When we launch, we have a basic mission duration, Stik explained during a July 10th press briefing. Then we can extend that in real time as needed as we get a better understanding of the appropriations process and what it means for the overall station manifest. In other words, NASA's already preparing for Crew 11 to stay in space a little longer than usual. Budget cuts may make economic sense, but they come at a cost, especially when it comes to long-term science missions and deep space exploration. NASA now has to scale back its ambitions just to stay afloat. And if this trend continues, the dream of space might slow down or fall into someone else's hands.