posted 01-20-2018 10:56 AM               

The most recent guidance from NASA, released in 2017, indicates that all nonessential employees should stay home during a shutdown, while a small contingent of staff continue to work on "excepted" projects. The heads of each NASA center decide which employees need to stay, but they're typically the people who operate important or hazardous programs, including employees working on upcoming launches or those who operate satellites and the International Space Station.

In fact, NASA has two spacewalks planned for astronauts on the ISS in the next couple of weeks, and those activities aren't expected to change in light of a shutdown. "When it comes to station operations, we have a plan," Kenny Todd, NASA's ISS mission operations integration manager, said during a press briefing about the spacewalks on Thursday. "Mission-essential, critical personnel will be on site, will be working, will be continuing the mission. So we don't see that as any kind of impact going forward when it comes to our daily operations."

posted 01-20-2018 10:59 AM               

Activities that would not continue, according to the plan, include educational work, public access to NASA centers and operation of NASA Television and the agency's websites. As of early Jan. 20, though, both NASA TV and the main NASA website were still operational. The memo states that NASA will "carefully evaluate the circumstances" of the shutdown before determining when to begin the "orderly shutdown of non-excepted activities." In most cases, that orderly shutdown would be no earlier than Jan. 22, the first working day after the lapse in funding.

We are open today and tomorrow. We are still awaiting guidance on our operating status for Monday. We will update as soon as we know.

Update: We will be OPEN Monday, Jan. 22 along with the rest of the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian can use prior year funds still available to us to do so. We will update our status beyond Monday as soon as we know.

posted 01-20-2018 04:35 PM               

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex continues to welcome guests during the government shutdown. All attractions at the visitor complex remain open, as well as the Kennedy Space Center Bus Tour, included with daily admission. The bus tour will continue taking guests onto the Kennedy Space Center and the Apollo/Saturn V Center.

Special Interest Tours, which include the Explore Tour, Launch Control Center Tour and Early Space Tour, are temporarily suspended beginning Jan. 20 due to the government shutdown. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is monitoring the situation closely and will resume tours when the situation is resolved.

posted 01-22-2018 09:29 AM               

Sorry, but we won't be tweeting/responding to replies during the government shutdown. Also, all public NASA activities and events are cancelled or postponed until further notice. We'll be back as soon as possible! Sorry for the inconvenience.