Overview

• Roughly 3,000 NASA personnel are designated as excepted to continue operating the International Space Station, active satellites, and Artemis development and operations.
• Internal guidance tells required employees to record hours during the funding lapse with back pay expected after reopening, while furloughed staff receive no pay during the shutdown.
• The Sept. 29 continuity plan added Artemis to excepted activities for the first time, lowering the projected number of furloughs compared with the 2023 plan.
• NASA employees assigned to Artemis work with contractors SpaceX and Blue Origin are directed to remain on the job during the lapse.
• Contractor-managed sites like JPL and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex remain open but must limit or suspend tasks that require furloughed civil‑service participation, as budget uncertainty and proposed FY2026 cuts heighten program risk.