14 DAY TRIAL // Now that the American Space Shuttle Program (SSP) has come to a halt, more than 3,200 employees will be laid off. After more than three decades of work, one of the most highly-specialized workforces in the world will be disbanded.
Atlantis, Endeavour and Discovery have all completed their final missions and are currently being decommissioned. They will be displayed at their respective permanent homes in early 2012.
Now, all the workers that dedicated so much of their time and expertise to the program will need to either find a new job at NASA, or move to the private sector altogether. The space agency is struggling to keep as many of them as possible.
However, massive budget cuts across the board mean that NASA will not be able to retain as many of the workers as it would like. Projects that will soon begin at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) will not require as many employees as the SSP did.
NASA officials say that more than 3,200 contractors will be issued layoff notes starting next week. The final flight of the program, Atlantis' STS-135 mission, successfully concluded on Thursday, July 22.
The shuttle landed in the early hours of the morning, and the event was witnessed by a large crowd of KSC and shuttle employees. They were watching the orbiter return with mixed feelings, official say.
“There were good emotions that we brought the crew home safely, and the mission's complete. Certainly sadness that it's over, and people will be moving on. Hate to see them leave, but that's a reality,” Mike Leinbach said.
“I saw grown men and grown women crying today. Tears of joy, to be sure, just human emotions came out on the runway today. You couldn't suppress them,” added the official, who is the NASA shuttle launch director.
Analysts say that there is no way for NASA to keep all of the people it spent so much money to train. Most likely, many of these individuals will go on to work for the private sector, bringing their expertise to benefit other organizations.
Thought officials at the space agency are sad to see this happening, their hands are tied by Congress and the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, Space reports.