Federal cuts to NASA and impacts on Colorado's economy and jobs

Image of the Earth rising about the surface of the moon

Credit: NASA

into America’s second-largest aerospace economy, hosting more aerospace jobs per capita than any other state—but that prominent role could be jeopardized by a proposed 47% cut to NASA’s science budget.

NASA has a huge footprint in Colorado:

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Read of the proposed federal budget on space science at CU Boulder and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

  • In just fiscal year 2023, NASA contracts in Colorado generated , supporting 21,600 jobs and contributing $190 million in state tax revenue.
  • Colorado’s space industry includes over 2,000 aerospace businesses, which directly employ more than 55,000 people and indirectly employ another 184,000 Coloradans.
  • In 2024, our state received $26 billion in federal aerospace funding to companies headquartered here.
  • The proposed cuts to NASA would shave nearly $200,000 in funding from , and reduce economic activity in the district by more than $500,000.
  • And the impact on our competitiveness in technology and science are impossible to quantify.

CU Boulder experts are available to discuss the following:

NASA cuts and effects on Colorado

is an associate professor in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department, and principal investigator of the NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN).

Curry is available to discuss the consequences of cancelling the MAVEN mission on the state and national level, including ceding leadership in space and Mars exploration to Russia and China. She can also speak to the adverse effects of this budget cut on investments in Colorado's commercial space industry, NASA’s aging space infrastructure, and the intellectual and technical brain drain.

David Brain is department chair for astrophysical and planetary sciences and planetary researcher at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Science (LASP) at CU Boulder. He also chairs the Science Advisory Board for NASA's MAVEN mission studying the loss of the Martian atmosphere.

Brain is available to discuss what potential NASA and NSF cuts would mean for ongoing research projects as well as their impacts to students.

Grant termination examples and impacts

Massimo Ruzzene is senior vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes.
Ruzzene is available to discuss the potential impacts of federal funding cuts to the nation and the state of Colorado, including jobs, wildfire safety, clean air, availability of clean water, reversal of life-saving medical advancements and global competitiveness in the sciences such as fewer engineers.

Additional resources