Is JPL part of NASA or Caltech?
Managed by Caltech, JPL is NASA’s only federally-funded research and development center. Designed, built, and operated the United States’ first satellite, Explorer 1, launched in 1958. 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.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.
Is JPL owned by NASA?
Jet Propulsion Laboratory 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. 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. This is the third round of layoffs at JPL in the past two years.