NASA’s acting leadership planning new agency structure

WASHINGTON — NASA’s acting administrator expects to decide on a new “top-level” structure for the agency within weeks, but a Senate-confirmed administrator may not be in place until next year.

Agency leadership, including acting administrator Janet Petro, held a town hall for NASA employees June 25. The town hall webcast was not open to the public but a recording of it was obtained by SpaceNews and separately posted online.

At the town hall, Petro said she was working on a reorganization of the agency that could change how the agency is structured and alter lines of reporting within it.

“I expect to finalize the top-level structure for this agency within weeks,” she said. “Right now, we’re weighing several approaches, and we’ve been working on this since early March.”

One approach would be to organize the agency through mission directorates, an approach that would appear similar to its current structure. A second would be “center-centric” and revolve around its field centers. A third approach would be a “product line model,” although she did not elaborate on what she considered NASA’s product lines.

That reorganization would be at the top level of NASA and not go below the center level, she said. “After we’ve selected this high-level structure, then we will begin to define those details of the organization at the lower level, and then we’ll make sure our operating procedures and our governance reflect what is needed for each part of the agency to succeed.”

Regardless of the approach, Petro indicated that much of the work currently done at NASA Headquarters will be moved to the field centers. “We’re considering moving most functions currently being performed in D.C. out to where the work is being executed, and refocusing the work done in D.C. to setting strategic direction and engaging with our external partners,” she said.

Waiting for a new administrator

A month ago, most expected Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center and NASA’s acting administrator since President Trump took office Jan. 20, to no longer be leading the agency. The Senate was moving to confirm the administration’s nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, with a vote expected in early June.

That changed suddenly May 31, though, when President Trump announced he was withdrawing the nomination, a move widely seen as linked to the falling out between Trump  and Elon Musk, the SpaceX chief executive who had advocated for Isaacman.

Petro said she would remain the acting head of NASA for the foreseeable future. “I want you to know that I will continue to lead NASA until a new leader is installed, and I take that responsibility to heart.”

That could take until next year. “I think the best guess would tell you that it’s hard to imagine it happening before the next six months, and could perhaps go longer than that into the eight- or nine-month range,” Brian Hughes, NASA chief of staff, said at the town hall.

He added that it could go faster if the president nominates someone “and the administration asks for bumping ahead of the Senate process to make it faster.”

When Trump announced he was pulling Isaacman’s nomination, he said he would soon announce a new nominee “who will be Mission aligned.” Nearly a month later, the White House has not announced a NASA administrator nominee.

Budget cuts and potential layoffs

Much of the town hall, including questions submitted by NASA employees, raised concerns about the agency’s budget and a potential for layoffs, known as a reduction in force or RIF. NASA’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal would cut the agency’s overall budget by nearly 25%, with steeper cuts in areas like science and space technology. It also foresees reducing the agency’s civil servant workforce by a third, or about 6,000 people.

Agency leaders defended the proposal, arguing it was part of broader efforts by the government to reduce spending. “It’s also a time when we face the reality of being a nation with $36 trillion of debt. This is why NASA is being challenged to focus on its core mission and work within tighter fiscal restraint,” said Hughes.

They noted that, as representatives of the executive branch, they could not advocate for changes to the budget proposal. Vanessa Wyche, acting associate administrator, said the agency would look for ways to stretch its budget through partnerships: “How do we partner with others to increase what we have and do more with it?”

Petro defended the proposal’s science budget, which would reduce spending by 47% to $3.9 billion. “You know, there’s still $4 billion. There’s a lot of science that can still be done with $4 billion,” she said. A review of the budget by The Planetary Society found that the proposal would cancel more than 40 science projects, including standalone missions and contributions to other missions.

“NASA is a member of the executive branch of government, and so it’s not our job to advocate, but let’s try to look at this in a positive way. We’ve still got a lot of money. Let’s see how much mission we can do,” she said.

Agency officials did not rule out the budget and workforce reductions could lead them to consider closing centers. “I don’t think we’re there yet to answer that question, but it is actively a part of the conversation we’re having as we go step by step through this,” Hughes said in response to a question about closing or consolidating centers.

Officials also said they were not planning any layoffs at this time. The agency is conducting a second round of a deferred retirement program after 900 employees took part in the first round earlier this year. Casey Swails, NASA deputy associate administrator, said 1,500 employees have signed up for this second round ahead of a July 25 deadline.

She said NASA did not plan to offer another buyout after the deadline for this opportunity closes, but emphasized that NASA was not planning layoffs. “I know there’s a lot of concern about RIFs,” she said. “We’re not planning for a RIF, and we’re doing everything we can to avoid going down that path.”

Many agency employees are privately skeptical of those claims, noting that the buyouts so far are only a fraction of the proposed workforce reductions in the budget.

Petro added that contractors will likely face layoffs. “85% of our budget goes out the door to contractors. So, with a reduced budget, absolutely, our contractors will also be impacted. In fact, they’re probably the bigger driver that will be impacted.”

Congress has yet to take up the budget proposal, with House appropriators scheduled to advance a commerce, justice and science spending bill that funds NASA in early July. As in past years, the appropriations process will extend beyond the start of the 2026 fiscal year on Oct. 1, meaning that NASA and other agencies will begin the fiscal year on a continuing resolution (CR) maintaining funding at 2025 levels.

Hughes said that even though NASA’s 2025 funding is significantly higher than the 2026 proposal, the agency would consider operating at those lower levels during the CR. “If we were to wait for all of the congressional process to unfold and get to final resolution to make any movements or do anything, it would probably be considered irresponsible,” he argued.

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