Is JPL a government entity?
Managed by Caltech, JPL is NASA’s only federally-funded research and development center. JPL is NASA’s Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).Michael M. Watkins became Director of JPL on July 1, 2016. In this role he also served as a vice president of the California Institute of Technology, which staffs and manages JPL for NASA.
Who owns the JPL?
It is owned by NASA and managed by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). JPL is located in Pasadena, California, United States. JPL’s main job is to build and operate robotic spacecraft that explore other planets. They also work on missions that study Earth from space and look at distant stars. Explore the JPL campus virtually with interactive 360 panoramas of Mission Control, the Spacecraft Assembly Facility, the visitor museum, and more. JPL is federally funded by NASA and managed by Caltech.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is operated by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). JPLers are Caltech employees and are considered Federal Contractors.Managed by Caltech, JPL is NASA’s only federally-funded research and development center.
Is NASA still owned by the US government?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA /ˈnæsə/) is an independent agency of the U. S. United States’ civil space program and for research in aeronautics and space exploration. NASA’s Budget, Compared The Defense Department and related activities account for roughly half of all discretionary spending. All other government agencies and activities—including NASA—are funded from the remaining amount. In 2025, NASA accounted for approximately 0. U. S.The Obama administration cut NASA’s planetary-sciences budget by 20 percent in 2013, as part of a restructuring plan, contrary to the recommendations of the National Research Council.Each year, federal agencies receive funding from Congress, known as budgetary resources . In FY 2026, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had $27. Billion distributed among its 1 sub-components. Agencies spend available budgetary resources by making financial promises called obligations .