NASA plans to open up competition for control over the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which has historically been operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This move is part of an even larger reorganization by the agency (though NASA asserts that this doesn't mean layoffs).
"NASA announced today that they will compete the contract for operating JPL, with Caltech’s current agreement ending on Sept. 30, 2028," reads a statement today (May 22) from JPL. Caltech has managed JPL since the lab's inception in the 1930s, and has done so for NASA since the agency was established in 1958. According to the JPL statement, Caltech has been preparing for this possible transition since last summer, so the news "comes as no surprise." But the potential change is part of a larger shakeup for the agency.
