2023 YEAR IN REVIEW

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov
Dating back to our beginnings in 1959 as NASA’s first spaceflight 

center, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has grown to 

comprise six sites across the country, more than 10,000 

employees, and one of the world’s best portfolios dedicated to 

the advancement of Earth and space science. 

For more than six decades, we have advanced humanity’s 

understanding of the universe, and 2023 was no different. Our 

flagship telescopes have continued to peer back into the far 

reaches of the cosmos. One of our missions became the first 

from the United States to return a sample from an asteroid, 

hopefully lending insight into the origins of our solar system. For the benefit of our own 

planet, our Earth science missions are informing scientists and policymakers worldwide 

about the changing systems here at home. A big year in heliophysics has begun, and Goddard 

is leading the way. As NASA prepares to send the first woman and first person of color to 

the Moon, all of our lines of business are playing vital roles in the collective lunar endeavor. 

Goddard’s storied past is prologue to our present, and our future is set to become even 

better. While the landscape of space exploration is shifting by the day – to include a more 

robust presence from industry and bigger players across the international stage – Goddard 

is embracing change, harnessing the newest challenges to create the greatest opportunities. 

Through it all, our mission to serve the public remains the same. We have many stakeholders 

across the globe, but none will ever be more important than the American public.

Please watch the accompanying video which highlights our achievements over the past 

year. This print and digital accompaniment outlines the structure, service, and financial 

health of our center.

On behalf of the thousands of Goddard employees who are pushing the boundaries of 

exploration, thank you for your interest in our work. We hope to continue redefining what 

is possible in the universe.

Dr. Makenzie Lystrup

Center Director

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Goddard 2023 Highlights

For Digital Viewers, Click Here

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THE GODDARD PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

This icon indicates expanded multimedia content. 

An interactive version of this report is also posted at issuu.com/nasagsfc.

We begin with SCIENCE and end with SCIENCE.

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2023 IN FIGURES

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2023 IN FIGURES

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GODDARD PROGRAM YEAR 2023 BUDGET

Categorized by Lines of Business (as of Sept. 30, 2023)

BUDGET: $5.05B

DIRECT BUDGET: $4.2B

INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT PROGRAM SUPPORT: $850M

BUDGET

Nationally, NASA supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and contributes billions of dollars of tax base for 

states and the nation. A major contributor to NASA’s national impact, Goddard is the most geographically 

diverse of all NASA centers with its main campus in Maryland in addition to its five component facilities in 

Virginia, New York, Texas, New Mexico, and West Virginia. With more than 10,000 employees and a budget 

nearing $5 billion, Goddard’s spending and overall economic impact spans 27 states. A powerhouse in the field 

of space science, Goddard also provides assured access to space for government and commercial customers 

and leads in space weather and Earth systems applications for the benefit of all humanity.

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ECONOMIC IMPACT

Obligations by State 

Alaska .........................................$14,722,945

Alabama........................................$4,999,999

Arizona .......................................$59,716,159

California ..................................$298,605,604

Colorado ...................................$233,986,618

Washington DC................................$314,306

Florida...........................................$6,244,540

Hawaii .............................................$400,600

Iowa ............................................$13,487,678

Illinois..............................................$875,000

Indiana......................................$142,892,303

Kansas...........................................$1,232,070

Massachusetts................................$9,239,147

Maryland................................$1,591,748,862

Michigan.......................................$4,475,015

Minnesota ..........................................$19,225

New Hampshire ............................$3,794,952

New Jersey ..................................$10,468,805

New Mexico..................................$1,310,415

New York.....................................$56,508,839

Oregon.............................................$957,623

Pennsylvania .................................$1,907,104

Texas...........................................$72,423,259

Utah..............................................$3,594,703

Virginia .....................................$318,086,254

West Virginia ...............................$39,219,588

Wisconsin .....................................$3,890,805

Grand Total.............................$2,895,002,454

Goddard’s Top Contractors

Peraton Inc.

$336.7M

Science Applications 

International Corporation

$238M

Science Systems & Applications, Inc.

$224.4M

L3 Harris Technologies, Inc.

$188.8M

Association of Universities for

Research in Astronomy

$169.3M

Lockheed Martin Corporation

$142.9M

KBRwyle Services, LLC

$141.7M

Aerodyne-SGT Engineering Services., LLC

$136.3M

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation

$128.2M

ASRC Federal System Solutions, LLC

$104.6M

Goddard invests more than 80 cents of every dollar it receives in American businesses, 

academia, and nonprofit organizations. 

All numbers are based on NASA Procurement Data View and Federal Procurement Data System obligation data for fiscal 2023 as 

of October 13, 2023. Obligated funds, both Goddard and NASA Shared Services Center.

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STATE OF THE WORKFORCE

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center strives to enable a culture of inclusion in which all 

employees feel welcome, respected, connected, and engaged.

One Goddard

More than 10,000 people (including off-site contractors, emeritus employees, and interns).

BY ETHNICITY

Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander • 0.2% 

Hispanic • 6.3% 

Multiracial • 2.7% 

American Indian / Alaskan Native • 0.2% 

Asian • 10.2% 

Non-minority • 65.8% 

African-American • 14.6% 

BY SKILL MIX

Clerical • 0.6% 

AST Scientists • 14.3% 

Non-AST Engineers / Scientists • 5.2% 

Professional Administrative • 28.6% 

AST Engineers • 51.3% 

18.8%

24.4%

18.0%

621

2.6%

8.3%

28.0%

275

86

808

926

595

29 and Under

30-39

40-49

50-59

60-69

70 and Over

BY GENDER BY AGE GROUP

36.8% Female

63.2% Male

BY DISABILITY

Targeted Disability 2.9% 

Non-targeted Disability 7.5%

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2023 HIGHLIGHTS

Clockwise from Top, left to right: ROMAN Space Telescope Mission Highlights, DAVINCI 

Mission Highlights, Heliophysics Focus Area: Space Weather, Webb Space Telescope Image 

Gallery, OSIRIS-REx TAGs Surface of Asteroid Bennu, and Lucy Mission Highlights.

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GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT 

CENTER MAIN CAMPUS

Greenbelt, Maryland

With its main campus in Greenbelt, Maryland, 

Goddard is NASA’s premier spaceflight complex and 

home to the nation’s largest organization of scientists, 

engineers, and technologists who build spacecraft, 

instruments, and new technology to study Earth, the 

Sun, our solar system, and the universe.

KATHERINE JOHNSON 

INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION 

AND VALIDATION FACILITY

Fairmont, West Virginia

The Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & 

Validation Facility is the home of NASA’s Independent 

Verification & Validation Program, which assures the 

safety and success of software for the agency’s highprofile missions.

WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY 

Wallops Island, Virginia

Wallops Flight Facility provides agile, low-cost flight 

and launch range services to meet government and 

commercial sector needs for accessing flight regimes 

worldwide, from Earth’s surface to the Moon and 

beyond. 

ONE WORLD-CLASS SCIENCE AND

ENGINEERING ORGANIZATION

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GODDARD INSTITUTE FOR 

SPACE STUDIES 

New York, New York

Research at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies 

emphasizes a broad study of global change, an 

interdisciplinary initiative addressing natural and 

man-made changes in our environment that occur on 

various time scales and that affect the habitability of 

our planet.

COLUMBIA SCIENTIFIC 

BALLOON FACILITY 

Palestine, Texas

The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility provides the 

services for launching large research balloons, as well 

as tracking and recovering the scientific experiments 

suspended beneath them, for NASA centers and 

universities worldwide. 

WHITE SANDS COMPLEX 

Las Cruces, New Mexico

The White Sands Complex and its satellite ground 

terminals provide the hardware and software necessary 

to ensure uninterrupted communications between 

spacecraft and control centers.

SIX DISTINCTIVE FACILITIES

AND INSTALLATIONS

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For more information, please visit our website:

www.nasa.gov/goddard

www.nasa.gov NP-2024-1-205-GSFC

VISION

Exploring the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.

MISSION

NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the 

benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.

FRONT COVER: The OSIRIS-REx capsule 

lands in the Utah Desert in September 2023.