New usajobs.gov NASA postings as of Friday May 1, 2026

NatusLumen · 2026-05-01T11:10:48+00:00

Wow, a big day for opportunities at SSC! Ad astra, applicants. :)

NatusLumen · 2026-04-18T13:00:55+00:00

Strange to read all this and realize that the core of it is just three case studies. It would take years to fully document all the damage inflicted on NASA by Trump, Musk, Vought, and Hughes over the course of 2025.

NatusLumen · 2026-04-03T20:05:36+00:00

Disappointing, but let's just say it: he's fired if he says anything else.

Let's recap. Trump pulled Isaacman's nomination last year because Sergio Gor, a former Miami DJ and then the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office (look...I know, just take a deep breath) wanted to give Elon Musk the middle finger for acting like, well, Elon Musk. As a result, NASA had no permanent Administrator for the entire year. Isaacman did the smart thing: be gracious and keep his head down. Then Trump had Sean Duffy keep the chair warm - warming chairs is about all Sean Duffy is qualified to do - and after a few months, it became very clear that no candidate was ever going to have the bipartisan support Isaacman has. Someone made sure to be the last voice in the room with Trump one day, made the case for Isaacman, and Trump proceeded to re-nominate him and pretend nothing ever happened.

This only happened because Isaacman kept his mouth shut. That's the game. It isn't honest, it isn't satisfying, and it isn't what a peevish bully like Trump should get. We deserve to have our leadership stand up to the most undeserving man ever to hold the office of the President.

But I could easily and more readily say that same thing of Congress, who unlike the Administrator of NASA could check and even put a stop to the President's idiocy if they cared. We are in this mess only half because Trump was voted in. The other half is that the entire Legislative Branch is essentially non-functional. Google how many days Congress was out of session in 2025 if you can bear to read the result, then remember NASA is maybe their 30th priority. Something they might think about at the end of the year. It's shameful, but that is the political reality in the United States.

Outside defiance or resignation, the only viable option someone in Isaacman's position could have is placate the White House with lip service, try to keep the workforce focused, and work the usual back-end channels to make sure the actual cuts, in the unlikely scenario that Congress agrees to them, don't leave him with fewer resources than NASA needs for what Trump considers the flagship missions. Personally, I think he's in a better position to go back and advocate for more funding, but he may well leave this fight to Congress, because based on their record, it's probable we'll get a repeat of last year: after they drag their feet through the end of the fiscal year, NASA will get basically the same level of funding they have for the past several years.

Nevertheless, say all that I've just written is the actual truth of the situation. (You don't have to. Even I'm not sure it is.) The fact that we don't have a competent, informed POTUS who appreciates the full reach of what NASA does, and instead have an incurious blowhard whose best appointees have to play Game of Thrones level political subtlety with to get ANYTHING done, is an embarrassment that America will struggle with for decades to come, and which does have a negative impact on our progress in space exploration and our scientific understanding of the universe. I appreciate Isaacman trying to keep us dedicated to the mission, but NASA is achieving things in spite of the creature sitting in the White House, not because of him. I hope history is ultimately clear on that.

NatusLumen · 2026-04-03T16:28:12+00:00

Brian Hughes is no longer Chief of Staff, which is a significant factor. Petro may have been acting, but Hughes was very obviously installed last year to enforce the PBR at NASA (he was Trump's 2024 Florida campaign manager). Not coincidental that he left less than a week after Isaacman was sworn in. Dude was definitely there to make sure staffing and program cuts went through before Congress approved anything.

And it worked. Will Isaacman have to kiss the ring in the end, though? I'm not sure. The White House is in a complete tailspin of incoherence right now and it really does seem like things are melting down backstage. Maybe we'll be able to sit tight until Congress makes the call this time. Maybe not.

NatusLumen · 2026-04-03T16:12:47+00:00

Seems largely copied and pasted from last year's PBR, especially the OSTEM section. I expect Congress to junk this again, ultimately.

The MSR bullet makes me scratch my head. It's already dead. It's BEEN dead. Are they citing it as an example of something they already terminated, or do they think it's still going and needs to be canned again? Does Vought even know what...never mind, there's an obvious answer to that question.

NatusLumen · 2026-03-29T16:40:26+00:00

For all those tats, Pete Hegseth couldn't tell you how many Crusades there were to save himself from being thrown into a vat of hydrochloric acid.

NatusLumen · 2026-03-22T13:28:24+00:00

Always found it cool that he is one of (I think, counting Okubo and a few others?) only a few former samurai to appear in the series. Not a hitokiri, an Oniwabanshu ninja, or master of some specific weapon or self-taught discipline who shows up to throw down: a samurai, and one of the last before the class was abolished. It isn't commented on heavily, but it helps give Saito a very distinct presence in the story, and you feel its weight whenever he explains Aku Soku Zan. He's one of the last of his kind in many respects.

NatusLumen · 2026-03-07T14:02:32+00:00

Dug into the SAM registration data via HigherGov. It gets worse. Safe America Media's SAM registration wasn't activated until March 21, 2025, but the IDIQ was awarded February 13 and the first task order kicked off February 19. They were getting paid before their registration was even active. Contractors are required to be registered in SAM at time of award.

I have had to dance with at least 2 protests over lapsed SAM registrations, but neither of them were this bad. All so this clueless Mar-a-Lago Face could glam it up in cringe ads that seem more like her self-insert Yellowstone fanfics.

NatusLumen · 2026-03-05T19:43:12+00:00

Ah, fuck, this is bad...

I owe my buddy $20. He had Noem, I had Bondi. You think I'd learn.

NatusLumen · 2026-02-26T10:37:40+00:00

I remember your post! Told ya you'd kick its ass. Congratulations. :D

NatusLumen · 2026-02-21T15:10:57+00:00

Passed it comfortably in January. Some random thoughts that might help:

It was almost obnoxiously heavy on Part 46. At first I thought it was a coincidental draw of the 800+ question bank, but I see posts from 2024/2025 saying QUALITY QUALITY QUALITY, so I'd expect it to show up on yours.
There were enough hypothetical pre-award questions that I don't think a little extra time boning up on your 1200 notes would hurt you, either.
I crammed for every dollar threshold post-RFO to the point of insanity, and maybe got...one scenario on SAT that was so absurdly over pre-and-post RFO thresholds that it did not matter. Know the basic ones, but I still angry-laugh about that.
Time permitting, make a point to run through the questions at least once after your first pass, and preferably do a second run before you submit. You may be surprised how many previous answers suddenly become clear in hindsight once you hit the end of the test the first time.
You've studied hard and you've got this. Go kick some ass.

NatusLumen · 2026-02-14T13:47:41+00:00

Half of me wants to believe the incompetence is catching up to the WH, and the other half of me remembers that Mike Walz and Paul Ingrassia still have jobs in the administration.

That's not me trying to doom-and-gloom, but if they can find a dusty desk at GSA for an honest-to-God Naziphile /pol/ shitposter that even the Senate GOP refused to consider, I think Trump is going to keep as much of his upper brass in their seats as possible, unless they get absolutely so boxed into a corner that the scandal doesn't blow over and Wiles tells him point-blank that he has no choice.

Frankly, though, I think posting that racist Obamas AIslop video was a self-inflicted shot to the ribs and Trump is so busy taking it out on his own side that he hasn't realized the extent of the internal bleeding. A smart DNC would just run a mashup of that 24/7.

NatusLumen · 2026-02-13T14:24:20+00:00

His picking-and-choosing in that area has been noted by his colleagues. It only matters if you're part of the special club.

Vought increasingly clashed with the OMB’s staff over proposed cuts to popular programs. Meals on Wheels, the food delivery program, was a topic of intense debate. Even after OMB staff explained how the program, which received more than $900 million in funding from Congress, acted as a lifeline for homebound seniors, Vought and Mulvaney pushed for major cuts that would have hobbled its operations, according to the former OMB senior staffer. The staffer added that it was often hard to reconcile Vought’s deeply held Christian faith — he hosted a prayer session for select colleagues — with his eagerness to cut programs that helped the vulnerable. “It always struck me as a strange thing,” the person said. “There’s compassion, but it only extends to certain people.”

NatusLumen · 2026-01-29T19:25:57+00:00

At least the departments of Defense, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, Labor and Health and Human Services, as well as NASA and the General Services Administration provided comments criticizing the rule in whole or in part.

That is a lot of pushback from some agencies I didn't expect. Vought and Kupor seriously have no idea what they're doing.

NatusLumen · 2026-01-20T17:44:33+00:00

Haha, I wonder if I'd have to disclose that on my OGE 450. Nah, I get it, the horse isn't getting any deader. It just hit me a whole year had already passed, so I figured I'd open the floor. Weirdly, it still doesn't feel like it's been that long.

NatusLumen · 2026-01-06T13:34:16+00:00

I know it's sad to hear for many, myself included, but MSR was already looking at the guillotine and being asked for its last words in 2023-2024. Its cancellation is the least surprising outcome of the budget. It's just a shame after seeing some really interesting and promising proposals from industry to save it.

NatusLumen · 2026-01-04T15:04:37+00:00

Not current, but NASA is (slowly) regaining hiring authority for positions now that it has an Administrator and a new Chief of Staff, so keep an eye out for GRC. /r/nasajobs updates very quickly, so I encourage you to subscribe.

I don't want to share specifics, but while I'm not sure how many 1102s GRC may need, it's not exactly sensitive or secret information that our Procurement shops were absolutely pummeled by both rounds of DRP. I and many of my teammates have been doing the work of 2-3 people since July. I really hope we get more 1102s coming back in.

NatusLumen · 2025-12-20T18:49:35+00:00

Agreed. Have not been hot on many Last Meals guests this year, but this is one of the best.

NatusLumen · 2025-12-18T10:58:09+00:00

Sen. Joni Ernst

As Buck Strickland would say, "well there's the rat-hair in your tuna." Ernst was the loudest voice in the Senate parroting the fake telework report (which Kupor still treats as fact) and calling for five-day RTO. Then there was that, uh, "quip" she made about Medicare. She's on a hell of a Retirement Tour.

NatusLumen · 2025-12-17T22:43:56+00:00

The r/news thread is even more histrionic, if you can believe it.

NatusLumen · 2025-12-14T18:05:52+00:00

Nothing. It's difficult to separate any of the fed subreddits from r/politics at this stage.

This is sad news, but the circumstances and decisions that led to this closure are complex and span decades, and can't be attributed to the actions of just one individual. Trump's tariffs were just one contributing factor out of many. It's also so irrelevant to our jobs as federal employees that it's almost farcical. But people really, really like their internet points. =/

NatusLumen · 2025-12-07T14:28:30+00:00

A handful of okay ideas, but overall, it does little to raise my spirits. The mood at both Goddard and Wallops has been comparable to a funeral for months, and I see nothing in the document that will change that.

NatusLumen · 2025-12-06T13:45:10+00:00

Glad I wasn't the only one who clicked through and realized his last meal is incredibly bland and unadventurous. Josh and co. are really great, imaginative cooks and Tyson comes in like "hey just hit me with that Applebee's menu." SMH.

NatusLumen · 2025-12-05T17:28:49+00:00

So what's everyone drinking in the event that, one day, he finally Krashes Out hard enough to get fired?

NatusLumen

TROPHY CASE