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NGA pushing ahed with AI amid workforce cuts
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency personnel are maintaining operational focus despite ongoing staff reductions and uncertainty, NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth told attendees at the Satellite 2025 conference.
"There is nothing like mission to help people stay focused no matter what else is going on," Whitworth said in Washington. "That said, they're humans, they have stresses."
Speaking on Monday at the Satellite 2025 conference, Whitworth did not specify exact numbers from "Fork in the Road" buyouts or involuntary cuts directed by the Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.
NGA employs approximately 14,000 people including 9,000 civilians
Meanwhile, NGA is accelerating AI integration into analyst workflows for satellite imagery analysis. Whitworth cautioned that implementing AI technologies requires substantial investment in computing resources.
Space Force's largest civilian employer copes with reductions
The Space Systems Command, which employs the largest portion of the Space Force's roughly 5,600 civilian workers, is preparing for personnel cuts as the Pentagon implements Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's workforce reduction plan.
Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, SSC's commander, told reporters last week at the Air & Space Forces Association's Warfare Conference that "a considerable number of SSC employees applied for the deferred resignation program," though he declined to specify exact figures. -
The Los Angeles-based command, responsible for space systems development, acquisition, launch operations and logistics management across the nation's space launch ranges, faces the same 5-8% civilian workforce reduction targets as other Defense Department components. -
"As the commander of SSC, I'm committed to executing the administration's direction," Garrant said, noting the clear mandate from the White House. -
Garrant indicated probationary employees — those in trial periods — are likely to be immediately affected. He emphasized his team is working to implement reductions "smartly" to avoid impacts to "strategic career fields and areas." -
SSC leadership has conducted extensive pre-planning with personnel who applied for the deferred resignation program, focusing on transition plans to ensure continuity of operations. "There's a human side to this," Garrant acknowledged, emphasizing the command's efforts to "make sure that the work that those individuals were doing is caught." WHAT'S NEXT: The Pentagon's broader reduction plan targets approximately 5,400 probationary civilian employees across the department. How these cuts will specifically affect Space Force capabilities and missions remains unclear as implementation proceeds.
NASA shuts downs offices
NASA has shuttered three offices and laid off 23 employees as the first step in broader workforce reductions ordered by the administration. The Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy, the Office of the Chief Scientist, and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Branch have been eliminated.
"To optimize our workforce, and in compliance with an Executive Order, NASA is beginning its phased approach to a reduction in force, known as a RIF," NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner said in a statement. -
Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy: Created in 2021, focused on space sustainability and space solar power studies. Led by Associate Administrator Charity Weeden. -
Chief Scientist Office: Position held since 2022 by climate scientist Kate Calvin. NASA has maintained a chief scientist since 1982, with a gap from 2005-2011. -
Diversity office: Already targeted for closure two days after Trump's inauguration, with websites taken offline Jan. 22 following an executive order terminating DEIA programs. Read more: SpaceNews is tracking DOGE's impact on space and the federal workforce.
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Commercial space companies selected for coveted STRATFI deals
SpaceWERX, the commercial outreach arm of the U.S. Space Force, has selected eight companies for Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreements in 2025 worth a combined $440 million in government and private funding, the agency announced on Saturday in Austin.
Each agreement worth up to $60 million, with about half funded by government agencies and half by private matching funds. The STRATFI program targets technologies that have demonstrated viability.
The winners were announced at Capital Factory in Austin: -
Albedo: High-resolution imaging satellites operating in very low Earth orbit -
Beast Code: Digital twins presenting complex space systems data -
CesiumAstro: Electronically scanned array antennas for Link 16 tactical data network -
Gravitics: Commercial space station adaptation for military applications -
LeoLabs: Next-generation space monitoring radar site for Indo-Pacific region -
Rise8: Military software applications developer -
Umbra: Synthetic aperture radar imaging satellites for all-weather Earth observation -
Xona Space: Commercial positioning, navigation and timing provider
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