Government Shutdown May Have Done Long-Term Damage to NASA
By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | February 1, 2019 12:32pm ET
The longest government shutdown in American history is over, but the damage it inflicted on the nation's space program may be felt for years to come.
The 35-day partial shutdown, which caused most of NASA's workforce to be furloughed, ended last Friday (Jan. 25) with a temporary fix President Donald Trump signing a continuing resolution that funds the government through Feb. 15.
There's no guarantee that everything will go smoothly beyond this fast-approaching deadline; President Trump has said he'll continue pushing for money for additional wall-building along the border with Mexico, the issue that sparked the shutdown in the first place. But even in the rosiest of scenarios, NASA and the broader American space program could feel considerable pain, experts said. [Watch: NASA's Plan for 2019]
For example, the shutdown temporarily halted development work on many NASA missions, as well as outside projects that depend on grant money from NASA and/or other government agencies. This could have serious financial consequences down the road.
More:
https://www.space.com/43197-government-shutdown-nasa-spaceflight-fallout.html