Overview
- The Goddard Space Flight Center’s largest library in Greenbelt, Maryland, closed on January 2 after more than six decades of service to missions including Hubble and James Webb.
- NASA previously said a two‑month review will determine which materials move to government storage and which may be discarded, language attributed to spokesperson Jacob Richmond in The New York Times.
- Administrator Jared Isaacman later countered that framing, saying important scientific and historical content will not be thrown away and that researchers will retain access through digitization, transfers, or preservation.
- The closure is part of a consolidation that targets 13 buildings and more than 100 science and engineering labs for shutdown by March 2026, with projected savings of about $10 million annually plus $63.8 million in deferred maintenance reductions.
- Political scrutiny intensified as Senator Chris Van Hollen called the reported closures deeply concerning, while NASA officials said the effort is a consolidation planned earlier, with one account citing a 2022 approval under President Biden.