U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis during a visit to the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday announced a grant of $15 million to assist 3,200 workers who will be impacted by the impending retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. The grant will target workers from major aerospace contractors, including ASRC Aerospace Corporation, Boeing and United Space Alliance.
“During nearly three decades of continuous space shuttle flights, these dedicated and talented workers have helped move our nation — and the world as a whole — forward in a broad range of disciplines,” said Secretary Solis. “Today, these hard-working Americans need and deserve our support, and I am pleased that this grant will allow them to upgrade their skills further and gain access to work opportunities in high demand industries.”
Representative Suzanne Kosmas (Florida – District 24), who accompanied Solis, said that “We must take every step possible to maintain the Space Coast’s highly skilled workforce, and this grant will provide critical support to workers and help them find new job opportunities in our community,” said Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, who represents Florida’s District 24 and joined Secretary Solis in making the grant announcement. “At the same time, I will continue working to minimize the human space flight gap and attract new businesses to the Space Coast in order to strengthen and diversify our economy.”
Ever since the decision was taken in 2004 to end the Space Shuttle Program in 2010, there has been great concern that thousands of workers would be displaced in Brevard County. Estimates of direct layoffs are in the range of 6,000 to 9,000 persons. This figure gets to a high of 20,000 when contract and subcontract workers are factored in.
In mid-April, President Obama had set out a bold, new vision for NASA that entailed an increase in its budget of $6 billion over the next five years and increased collaboration with a growing array of private companies to make getting to space easier and more affordable, among other aspects. At that time, Obama also proposed a $40 million initiative to develop a plan to equip an already skilled workforce for new opportunities in the space industry and beyond.
But all this is cold comfort to the thousands of displaced workers in Brevard County with little job prospects and only two more shuttle flights scheduled before the program is shut down at the end of 2010. A period of significant hardship is likely ahead.
