According to a new report from a group of experts in the aerospace industry, NASA is at a critical stage in its existence, as the future of the space agency has been put at risk. A document titled NASA at a Crossroads, prepared by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at the request of Congress, describes the agency’s serious problems.
One of the main problems is the outflow of specialists. NASA is losing its best engineers to retirement or to the private sector, which offers higher salaries. Despite successes such as the launch of the James Webb Telescope, other missions, such as returning samples from Mars, have been delayed, giving China an opportunity to overtake the US in space.
The more than 200-page report includes recommendations from experts across the industry, including representatives from SpaceX, the Planetary Society, and universities. The main conclusion is that NASA is too focused on short-term tasks and has no strategic plan for the future.
Former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine, and one of the report’s authors, said the agency often ignored less visible but important aspects that would determine its future success. Due to a lack of resources and talent, the space agency is increasingly partnering with private companies, but these partnerships are not always productive. For example, when Boeing failed to safely return astronauts to Earth on its Starliner spacecraft, NASA had to turn to SpaceX for help.
Augustine also noted that the agency would have a problem attracting innovative engineers, because most of them didn’t want to work only as supervisors for others.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who actively supports collaboration with the private sector and is concerned about the space race with China, said the report was consistent with the agency’s current plans to provide future infrastructure and technology. However, some experts believe his assessment may be too optimistic amid the agency’s real problems.
Earlier we reported on how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory laid off 8% of its staff.
According to The Washington Post
