Government shutdown grounds NASA testing

PERKINS TWP. — A nationwide government shutdown translates to officials hitting the pause button on all NASA activities, which include halting important work at the space station's Erie County-based facility.Wednesday marked the first full business day a partial public sector work stoppage took effect, forcing various federal departments to close due to a budgetary stalemate between President Donald Trump and Congress.The shutdown officially started Saturday, but most offices previously intended closing Sunday for the weekend, Monday for Christmas Eve and Tuesday for Christmas.During a partial shutdown, the third one occurring in 2018, "non-essential" agencies cease operations. This includes national parks, the Small Business Administration and NASA stations, including work at the Plum Brook Station. Many other "essential" activities, meanwhile, — namely military, mail delivery and air-traffic control — remain open.Space.com, an independent website reporting on NASA news, estimates 95 percent of the agency's employees can't go to work during a shutdown. This includes all staff who report to Plum Brook, multiple NASA personnel told the Register.So when could Plum Brook reopen?A shutdown won't end, as reported by the Associated Press, until Trump receives approval from Congress to "wall off" the U.S.-Mexico border in hopes of deterring criminal elements happening there."I can't tell you when the government's going to be open. I can tell you it's not going to be open until we have a wall or fence, whatever they'd like to call it," Trump said, referring to Democrats who staunchly oppose walling off the border.The shutdown interrupted many ongoing projects at Plum Brook, most notably testing on and preparation for Orion — the initiative aiming to carry astronauts into deep space and possibly land on Mars.Most recently, a simulated spacecraft resembling Orion's actual article underwent and aced noise-related tests. Engineers collected data to input into Orion's actual article, ensuring, upon a scheduled 2021 launch, the spacecraft can withstand extreme vibration it'll likely encounter in space.Depending on the shutdown's length, a federal holdup could push back several crucial Orion-related experiments scheduled for 2019 at Plum Brook.Before then, Plum Brook's staff has prepared for these tests, analyzing data gathered from past trial runs. Though the stoppage means these workers and others contracted to work with NASA at Plum Brook on other projects must stand idle and wait for who knows how long. "This whole government shutdown is an unfortunate situation that, certainly at NASA, we don't like to see," said Erie County commissioner Pat Shenigo, who's among NASA's strongest supporters in the greater Sandusky area. "The jobs at NASA are very important, and the testing happening at Plum Brook is important to the world. It needs to be open."Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this news reportReach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.Nicole Smith, the NASA project manager in charge of Orion's testing at the Plum Brook Station, speaks about the spacecraft during an Aug. 21, 2018, press event at the Erie County-based facility. During the federal government's partial shutdown, all work at NASA stations, including Plum Brook, must cease until Congress and President Donald Trump sign a new funding bill.