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The Federal Space Workforce Is Shrinking: What the NASA Exodus Means | Taha Abbasi
Taha Abbasi··2 min read
Taha Abbasi examines the concerning trend of shrinking federal space workforce — an exodus of experienced engineers that could impact America’s space ambitions.
The Exodus
SpaceNews reports accelerating departures from NASA and related agencies. Better private-sector compensation, frustration with bureaucracy, and political uncertainty drive the trend. For Taha Abbasi — who worked with NASA through JPL and Wallops programs — this hits close to home.
Pull and Push Factors
Pull: SpaceX, Blue Origin, and startups offer higher pay, faster pace, and visible impact (work flies in months, not years). Push: budget uncertainty, slow procurement, program priorities changing with administrations.
The Knowledge Problem
The critical loss isn’t headcount — it’s institutional knowledge. Engineers who managed Shuttle ops, designed ISS systems, and built deep-space foundations carry decades of hard-won expertise. As Taha Abbasi emphasizes, failure modes, edge cases, and operational wisdom don’t exist in manuals.
Silver Lining
Talent flowing to private sector isn’t disappearing. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and commercial companies benefit from NASA veterans bringing rigorous discipline. The risk is NASA becoming unable to serve essential functions: deep-space science, risky technology development, and commercial partner oversight.
Maintaining core capability requires competitive compensation, meaningful work, and bipartisan commitment, as Taha Abbasi concludes.
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About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com
Taha Abbasi
Engineer by trade. Builder by instinct. Explorer by choice.
