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Change in NASA Funding May Mean Utah Space Lab Will Have to Lay Off Staff

Posted on: Friday, 9 June 2006, 00:00 CDT

By Greg Lavine, The Salt Lake Tribune

Jun. 8--NASA's push to send astronauts to Mars may be hurting North Logan's Space Dynamics Laboratory.

A reshuffling of space agency funding means the nonprofit Space Dynamics Laboratory may have to reduce up to 18 percent of its work force in the next year, said Harry Ames, deputy director of the northern Utah operation. With more money flowing toward the manned-mission side of the space agency, less funding is left for SDL's science-oriented missions.

Many of the laboratory's NASA contracts relate to satellite missions, but building the International Space Station (ISS) and sending astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars are tying up a big chunk of the space agency's budget.

"The ISS is a huge money sink," Ames said. "The Space Shuttle program is a money sink."

While an across-the-board reduction of 18 percent would mean about 60 layoffs, the actual number likely will be less, SDL director Michael Pavich said.

SDL will offer an early retirement package to 10 workers, while others will be offered a severance package if they decide to leave. On July 1, SDL will hope to reduce its work force by up to 30 people, and some layoffs may be necessary to hit that goal. As more is learned about other contracts in the near future, there may be another round of reductions later in the year.

Utah State University owns SDL, which is part of the Utah State University Research Foundation. The foundation and SDL employ about 350 people in North Logan, Washington, D.C., and Bedford, Mass.

Pavich said SDL's best fiscal year was 2004, when it pulled in revenue of $75 million. In the 2006 fiscal year, project revenue sat at $52 million, while projections for the 2007 fiscal year show revenue of around $42 million.

"It's infecting the whole industry, and it's coming at the worst time," Ames said of the aerospace industry's financial woes.

The bad timing comes into play as the industry tries to groom enough young engineers to replace an aging work force, many of whom began their careers before the Space Shuttle era.

Pavich called this a flat spot for an industry that tends to be cyclical.

"We've got prospects for a good future," he said.

If SDL wins more contracts, some workers could be brought back, Pavich said.

Ames said SDL in the past has tried to branch out, working on projects with groups such as the Naval Research Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Among SDL's projects are a future NASA mission called the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which will examine dim stars and search for asteroids that could have trajectories that intercept Earth's orbit.

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Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

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