Are JPL employees NASA employees?
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. Employees. Following multiple rounds of workforce reductions in 2024 and 2025, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) maintains a staff of approximately 5,500 regular employees.PASADENA, CA – Today, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a NASA Center administered by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), announced the reduction of its workforce by 550 employees, or approximately 11% of its total staff.JPL is run by contractors working for Cal Tech. When the government shuts down, JPL keeps going, at least for a while. The deep space network that communicates with all (most? NASA’s spacecraft that aren’t Earth orbiters, is run by JPL.The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in La Cañada Flintridge, California and Pasadena, California, United States. The JPL is managed by the nearby California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for NASA.
Who is the owner of JPL?
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center in La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in 1936 by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by NASA and administered and managed by Caltech. JPL was founded on Halloween 1936, when Caltech professor Theodore von Kármán and a group of graduate students conducted their first tests of an alcohol-fueled rocket motor in the Arroyo Seco.
Is JPL in trouble?
JPL laid off 550 employees Tuesday — the fourth round in a series of layoffs that cut a quarter of employees over two years. With Congress cutting the lab’s flagship Mars mission, morale within the lab is slumping. JPL, which relies on contracts for big missions, has few major projects in the pipeline. Laurie Leshin, director of the lab during the 2024 layoffs, cited budget constraints and uncertainties surrounding the JPL-spearheaded Mars Sample Return mission as the reason for the cuts.