One Big Brutal Bill: Ex-NASA brass decry Trump's proposed budget cuts

'If this is the priority for our tax dollars, we are doomed'

The US Congress has passed President Donald Trump's budget bill. In addition to the possibility of a Space Shuttle move, significant changes are on the way for NASA.

Although the Space Launch System (SLS) has had two missions restored – Artemis 4 and 5 – and the Gateway, a lunar space station, put back on the agenda, there is no reprieve for NASA's science programs, which are set to be halved.

The bill, which Trump nicknamed the "One Big Beautiful Bill," is part of the Trump administration's budget reconciliation package. It includes transformative legislation that provides funding for critical infrastructure upgrades and offers tax relief. It cleared the House and Senate last week and, as it stands, will severely curtail the funds available to the US space agency.

The Planetary Society has called the budget an "extinction-level event," and this week released a joint statement from every living former head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) – the agency's top science leadership position – condemning the White House's proposed 47 percent cut.

In happier times: Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver poses for a selfie with science educator Bill Nye at a 2012 Planetary Society shindig – Planetfest – ahead of Curiosity's landing on Mars. Nye has also decried the proposed cuts – Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Meanwhile, there appear to be sufficient funds to transport a Space Shuttle from one museum to another, with $85 million allotted to the undertaking. Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver lamented: "If this is the priority for our tax dollars, we are doomed." Garver noted that to move the Shuttle would require dismantling the orbiter, which would likely cause irreparable damage.

Former Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale talks to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center team members about the accidents that have shaped the agency's history during a "Shared Experiences" discussion several years back – Credit: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given

Former Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale also chimed in with a reminder of his suspicions from 2011 about why Houston didn't get a Shuttle in the first place. While the Shuttle was largely designed and the program managed from the region, "Houston is [was] blasé about the shuttles. Houston and Texas have come to regard NASA and JSC [Johnson Space Center] as entitlements. We deserve JSC and the shuttle just because of who we are. Not true. Anything worthwhile is worth fighting for."

NASA Watch's Keith Cowing reported that changes were already afoot within NASA regarding mission terminations. "NASA is acting as if FY 2026 request is the de facto operating plan going forth," he wrote. "Dozens of NASA mission teams are scrambling to complete shutdown plans to make it easier for NASA to start flipping the OFF switch on short notice."

NASA did not confirm these reports. A spokesperson told The Register: "We are aware of the provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill relating to NASA. The agency will put all enacted funding to good use and continue to work diligently to execute the President's vision for the future of space as we usher in the Golden Age of human space exploration and innovation."

Embrace the challenge indeed. ®