Late last month, staffers at NASA’s iconic Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) told the New York Times that the Trump administration had accelerated its plans to shutter over a dozen buildings and around 100 laboratories during the government shutdown.
The allegation angered Democratic lawmakers, who accused the Trump administration of going ahead with the “consolidation” effort without consulting them.
In a November 10 letter addressed to Sean Duffy, who served as NASA’s interim administrator at the time, representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) noted that her staff had received “disturbing reports that NASA is directing the imminent closure of laboratories and facilities hosting mission-critical capabilities” at the GSFC. (In a statement to Futurism, NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens disputed this claim, arguing that “all mission-critical capabilities were retained.”)
Of particular concern is the campus’ main library, which was unceremoniously shut down last month. NASA officials tried to downplay these concerns seemingly to no avail — as former and current staffers, advisors, and union representatives continue to watch in horror as the GSFC closures go on.
NASA insiders cried foul following the library’s closure, warning that critical and still-undigitized materials could be thrown out in what they said were reckless efforts by the Trump administration.
NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, who was confirmed by the Senate on December 17, was angered by the NYT‘s framing, accusing the newspaper of not fully reflecting the “context NASA shared.” He argued that “at no point is NASA ‘tossing out’ important scientific or historical materials.”
That’s despite later admitting that “some materials with no historical or technical value may not be retained” following a “deliberate review” over a period of 60 days.
Stevens described the moves at Goddard as a “consolidation, not a closure” in a statement to the NYT.
Isaacman’s comments have seemingly done little to reassure rattled NASA staffers. In a January 7 response spotted by Astronomy, Matt Biggs, the president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) — a union that represents thousands of NASA scientists and engineers — accused Isaacman of making “patently false” statements.
“The rapid and haphazard shutdown of the library at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, reported on by The New York Times, decimated this valuable collection housed at NASA’s largest research library,” Biggs wrote.
The labor union boss also took issue with Isaacman’s argument that the consolidation efforts were part of the 2022 Goddard Master Plan, which dates back to the Biden administration.
“This was not part of some ‘long-planned facilities consolidation’ as Isaacman claims,” Biggs wrote. “The Goddard Master Plan, written in 2022, does not call for the library’s closure. Building 21, which houses the library, was scheduled for renovation, not elimination.”
Biggs also accused Isaacman of misleadingly stating on X that “NASA researchers will continue to have access to the scientific information and resources they need to do their work.”
“That’s simply not true,” he wrote. “Much of the material that was available in the library in Greenbelt, Maryland, is copyrighted or unique out-of-print material that cannot or has not been digitized and will no longer be available to researchers.”
In a statement to Futurism, Stevens took issue with Bigg’s characterization, arguing that he had “taken the administrator’s comments out of context” and that plans for the library “became an addendum” to the 2022 Master Plan.
Stevens also insisted that NASA researchers will continue to have access to the library’s resources, including “digital subscriptions to critical technical journals” and “access to physical books through interlibrary loan,” as well as “professional researchers.”
It’s a precarious moment, as NASA’s future continues to be debated in Congress. If it were up to the White House, the historic agency would face the largest budget cuts in its 67-year history. Lawmakers, however, have since passed a counteroffer that would leave the agency’s science budget largely unaffected for the fiscal year of 2026 — which technically started in October, as the chaos has dragged on.
It’s a major test of Isaacman’s leadership after taking control of an agency in crisis last month. Insiders remain highly skeptical of the Trump administration’s approach. They say NASA should be opening doors, not closing them, especially as the United States looks to return astronauts to the Moon in the coming years.
“Where is the consolidation?” Biggs wrote. “The material is not being consolidated with other holdings; it is simply being lost to Goddard and to the broader research community, much of it is being sent to storage or to the dumpster.”
Stevens told Futurism that it was “patently false that books have been sent to the dumpster,” arguing that materials were being “consolidated within NASA,” a process that is “still ongoing.”
Biggs, however, appears to be unconvinced by NASA’s reassurances.
“NASA’s scientists and engineers shouldn’t have to be dumpster divers to do their work,” Biggs added. “We expect better from NASA and its managers.”
Updated with additional comment from NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens, and clarified the source of the allegations around the controversy at the GSFC.
More on the closure: NASA Veterans Disgusted by Plans to Shut Down Its Largest Library