Exodus: The shrinking federal space workforce

In 2025, more than 322,000 civil servants left jobs voluntarily or were dismissed out of a workforce of roughly 2.4 million. The 13% drop in staffing is the largest single-year decline since the end of World War II. In total, more than 5,000 people who were part of the federal space workforce left their positions. Senior executives with decades of experience retired alongside younger staffers whose posts were eliminated or who sought opportunities in the private sector or academia. SpaceNews correspondent Debra Werner spoke with eight of the remarkable people who recently left the federal workforce.

Versions of these interviews first appeared in the February 2026 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

Charity Weeden

Last position: NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy and Strategy

Charity Weeden’s career has taken her through many aspects of the space sector. Over 23 years with the Royal Canadian Air Force, … Read More

Stephen Volz

Current position: NOAA Satellite and Information Systems Assistant Administrator (on administrative leave)

With a newly minted PhD, Stephen Volz began work at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in 1986, where he was assigned to … Read More

Shawn Phillips

Last position: Air Force Research Laboratory Rocket Propulsion Division chief

PhD chemist and nanomaterials expert Shawn Phillips spent 27 years at Edwards Air Force Base, where he started as a bench scientist … Read More

Evana Gizzi

Last position: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Artificial Intelligence Research Lead

Before leaving NASA in January, spacecraft autonomy specialist Evana Gizzi was laying the groundwork for a NASA AI Innovation hub in Boston … Read More

Kartik Sheth

Last position: NASA Associate Chief Scientist

Kartik Sheth managed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Spitzer Space Telescope. Sheth spent nearly nine years at Caltech … Read More

Mark Munsell

Last position: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Chief Artificial Intelligence officer and Director of Digital Innovation

Mark Munsell’s first jobs were at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency and the Defense Mapping Agency. But he spent the bulk of his career at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency … Read More

Claire Leon

Last position: Space Systems Command Space Systems Integration Office Director

As the inaugural director of the Space Systems Command’s Space Systems Integration Office, Claire Leon spent three years building an organization to enhance the resilience of space capabilities … Read More

Phil McAlister

Last position: NASA Senior Adviser

Phil McAlister joined NASA in 2005 and helped transform its approach to human spaceflight. He was a leading advocate for NASA … Read More

Abridged versions of these articles first appeared in the February 2026 issue of SpaceNews Magazine.