Hancock County could lose high-paying jobs under Trump’s ‘skinny budget’
Supporters are jetting to Washington this week in hopes of saving NASA’s Artemis program for launching astronauts to the moon, and eventually Mars, saying its loss would be financially devastating for Hancock County.
President Donald Trump’s “skinny budget” calls for phasing out the Space Launch System and Orion capsule, which space.com calls the “backbone” of the Artemis program.
The Space Launch System’s booster engines are assembled and tested at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, while the rocket’s core stage, or major sections, are built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Plant Facility in New Orleans. The Orion capsule that carries crew members is partially assembled at Michoud.
“I believe Congress is going to do everything they can to keep these jobs in place at Stennis and Michoud,” said Tish Williams, executive director of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce and a member of the group in Washington to push for funding.
The company assembling the engines, L3Harris/AeroJet Rockdyne, would have to cut its workforce if funding is stripped, said general manager Michael McDaniel, who is also on the trip. The company has 110 employees working at Stennis, he said. NASA and program suppliers also would lose jobs.
“It would be a significant impact to the Hancock County economy,” McDaniel said.
Privatizing space exploration?
The first Artemis flight in November 2022 was uncrewed, but flights scheduled for May 2026 and 2027 will include astronauts. The goal is for astronauts to live safely in “deep space,” McDaniel said, then to launch them to Mars.
President Donald Trump’s budget would not cut the program until after the 2027 flight.
Trump wants to turn over the mission to private companies, but none currently have rockets that can launch astronauts to the moon and return them safely to earth, McDaniel said. Both Elon Musk, a senior advisor to Trump, and Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and other companies, have private space exploration companies, SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively.
The Space Launch System alone “costs $4 billion per launch and is 140 percent over budget,” President Donald Trump’s budget proposal says. “The budget funds a program to replace SLS and Orion flights to the Moon with more cost-effective commercial systems that would support more ambitious subsequent lunar missions.”
Eliminating the Artemis program also would affect more than 20 Louisiana and Mississippi suppliers.
“SLS and Orion create thousands of high-quality jobs for engineers, scientists, mechanics, technicians, machinists, support staff, and other skilled workers,” Williams wrote in a news release sent out by Partners of Stennis & Michoud.
“Federal dollars for these programs cascade through the local economy, supporting local businesses and promoting interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) among our students. Additionally, these programs draw hundreds of additional workers and tourists to the area, benefiting hotels, restaurants and other regional businesses.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
