NASA to Rebuild In-House Expertise, Shrinking Its Contractor Footprint
NASA plans a shift to bring core engineering and operations in-house after losing about 20% of civil servants, with roughly 75% of its workforce currently contractors; a new directive orders a 30-day assessment to identify roles to convert to civil service and 60-day rapid onboarding, while expanding the Tech Force program, training, and internships, and requiring future contracts to include right-to-repair provisions and makerspaces—aiming to reduce contractor reliance and potentially save about $1.4 billion annually, according to Isaacman (though he did not detail the calculation).