Partners for Stennis and Michoud raise concerns about proposed NASA budget cuts

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Proposed budget cuts to NASA could have ramifications for the Michoud Assembly Center and the John C. Stennis Space Center.

The Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans, known as “America’s Rocket Factory,” has been involved in the construction of major NASA programs, such as the Saturn rockets, the Space Shuttle Program and the International Space Station. According to a NASA fact sheet, it employs 191 NASA federal employees and 1,430 contractors.

Michoud is currently involved in the construction of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion Lander. The SLS is the rocket for the Artemis Program, NASA’s plan to return to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

President Donald Trump proposed in his fiscal year 2026 budget to phase out the Artemis program. The budget calls for ending the program after the launch of Artemis III, the mission that will put humans on the Moon. It isn’t expected to launch until after 2027.

The White House wants to cut NASA funding from $24.9 billion down to $18.8 billion.

The White House budget says that the Artemis program is too expensive, and ought to be replaced with rockets developed by commercial groups.

Executive Director of Partners for Stennis and Michoud Tish Williams said NASA isn’t a large portion of the national budget. She said there currently isn’t a viable commercial rocket capable of getting to the Moon and back. She said one day an alternative may exist, but it is currently undefined. She said eliminating these programs would undercut human presence in space.

“The President’s budget proposed $7 billion for lunar exploration and $1 billion in new Mars focused investments,” Williams said. “It would simultaneously eliminate proven capabilities and infrastructure needed to achieve those goals with no other viable option to credibly get there.”

According to a NASA fact sheet, they reportedly support 2,418 jobs in Louisiana. They said their economic output in the state is $507.3 million and the state tax revenue collected is $16.9 million.

“Seeing any kind of cuts to those programs would be devastating for our region,” Williams said.

According to Matt Wolfe, Senior Vice President of Communication for Greater New Orleans Economic Development, Senator Ted Cruz filed a Senate reconciliation bill that would add NASA and aerospace industry funding support.

The bill would add $4.1 billion to fund two SLS rockets for Artemis IV and Artemis V missions. It would also add $20 million to continue the Orion Crew Vehicle and would add $30 million to the Michoud Assembly Center for infrastructure repairs and upgrades.

Williams said it’s important to fund NASA so it can serve as an anchor customer to keep the commercial space sector viable and growing.

“The president and congress share a commitment to U.S. leadership in space,” Williams said. “We all agree with the administration’s intention to beat China to the Moon and make investments to send humans to Mars. Out message was we were gravely concerned that the proposed cuts to NASA’s budget would undermine those efforts.”

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