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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Science
Nina Lakhani

Hundreds of Nasa workers rebuke ‘arbitrary’ Trump cuts in scathing letter

a sign outside a building reads 'NASA'
Nasa’s headquarters in Washington DC last month. Photograph: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Almost 300 current and former US Nasa employees, including at least four astronauts, have issued a scathing dissent opposing the Trump administration’s sweeping and indiscriminate cuts to the agency, which they say threaten safety, innovation and national security.

The formal letter, titled The Voyager Declaration, is addressed to the acting Nasa administrator, Sean Duffy, a staunch Trump loyalist appointed on 7 July who is also his transportation secretary. The declaration, which is dedicated to 17 astronauts who have died in past spaceflight incidents, warns of catastrophic consequences if the proposed cuts to science grants, staffing and international missions are implemented.

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