It has been nearly one month since many parts of the federal government shut down after lawmakers missed a budget deadline at the end of September, but so far, NASA’s most critical operations have been unaffected by the political impasse in Washington, DC.
That may change soon. Federal civil servants and NASA contractors are not getting paid during the shutdown, even if agency leaders have deemed their tasks essential and directed them to continue working. Jobs classified as essential include employees operating and safeguarding the International Space Station and NASA’s fleet of robotic probes exploring the Solar System and beyond.
Many employees at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida remain at work, too. Their job is to keep the Artemis II mission on schedule for launch as soon as next February. In the four weeks since the start of the government shutdown, crews at Kennedy Space Center have completed several major milestones on the road to Artemis II, including the stacking of the Orion spacecraft atop its Space Launch System rocket inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building. This milestone, completed about one week ago, capped off assembly of the SLS rocket for Artemis II.
The Artemis II mission will be the first flight of astronauts on the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket. During their 10-day mission, the astronauts will test the Orion crew capsule and fly around the far side of the Moon before returning to Earth. The mission will lay the groundwork for future crew missions to land on the lunar surface.
Working on borrowed time
Several months of work remain ahead for the Artemis II team to finish testing the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, complete training of the astronauts and flight control teams, and then transfer the entire 322-foot-tall (98-meter) launch vehicle out to Launch Complex 39B for a fueling demonstration and launch countdown.
Thousands of workers across the country, primarily in Florida, Texas, and Alabama, are still reporting for duty to keep Artemis II’s launch date early next year. In many cases, they’re not getting their paychecks. It’s not clear how long NASA can sustain this situation without delaying Artemis II’s departure for the Moon.
What is apparent, officials say, is the government shutdown is creating inefficiencies that, if left unchecked, will inevitably impact the Artemis II schedule. Just look at what’s happening with air traffic controllers across the United States as many of them are forced to take second jobs due to missed paychecks. The funding stalemate has contributed to widespread air traffic controller shortages and flight delays.
Kirk Shireman, vice president and program manager for Orion at Lockheed Martin, said Tuesday that the shutdown initially created a “nuisance” for teams working on the Artemis II mission. But it won’t be just a nuisance forever.
“I do think we’re rapidly approaching the point where it will be a significant impact, and it’s more to do with overall infrastructure,” Shireman said in response to a question from Ars at the von Braun Space Exploration Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
“Some of you flew here,” he said. “I suspect if you weren’t delayed coming here, you’re probably going to be delayed going home, even in the airport going through TSA. Everything that affects people’s lives is affected by the government, and when it’s shut down, it’s going to have its toll, and it’s probably going to be these secondary impacts that ultimately do it.”
Shireman has some experience with government shutdowns. He was a longtime NASA civil servant, rising in the ranks to become manager of the International Space Station program before retiring from government in 2020 and taking a position at Lockheed Martin. In his time at NASA, Shireman shepherded the ISS program through a 35-day government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019.
The ISS program has always been exempted from past government shutdowns because NASA must keep the space station operating in order to protect the lives of the people living and working onboard. NASA has also exempted its other operating spacecraft, such as satellites and robotic deep space explorers, from past government shutdowns in order to protect the billions of dollars taxpayers have committed to those missions.
NASA hasn’t always extended the same exemption to missions still on the ground preparing for launch, especially those without tight interplanetary launch windows. The Artemis II mission can launch on a handful of days each month when the positions of the Earth and the Moon are just right for the Orion spacecraft to complete its circumlunar voyage as designed.
Therefore, losing a few days in the schedule would effectively delay the Artemis II launch by up to a month.
“People, companies are not being paid. They have the ability to be reimbursed at some point in time,” Shireman said. “Fortunately, I work for a large company that’s capitalized, and we’re going to be fine. But there are a lot of people, a lot of small companies… here in Huntsville and across the nation. They’re not getting paid, and ultimately they’re not going to be able to continue working.”
“What day is it going to hit here? I don’t know. I really hope that we can find a way to get the government back up and running,” Shireman said. “If anybody has any great ideas, please call your members of Congress today.”
Ars asked NASA for comment on how a longer-term shutdown might impact the Artemis II launch campaign but did not receive a response Tuesday. We will add any NASA statement to this story when we receive it.
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