CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Government shutdowns have closed Kennedy Space Center to the Space Coast’s unsung heroes of launch operations before.
Now, the aerospace union in Cape Canaveral is worrying again about the possibility of going weeks without a paycheck.
In late-2018 and early 2019, Ed Grabowski with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said members went 35 days without getting paid.
”It’s a bad movie being repeated, and we don’t want to live through it again,” Graboswki said. “The damage it will cause to them, and this is an organization that proudly serves the community, and this is the reward they get at the end of the year. It’s very disappointing, very disappointing.”
Grabowski said the union helped build the space center from the early days.
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”Most of these locals were chartered in the ‘50s, mid ‘50s when the space program began, and they’ve been here, and they’re loyal,” he said. “They are just as committed as their NASA counterparts. They spend more time out here making the programs go. They’re involved with SpaceX, Blue Origin. We support them all.”
With that kind of impact, a shutdown could mean fewer rocket launches. There’s much more happening right now than in 2018 and 2019.
SpaceX launched Florida’s 90th launch of 2024 on Tuesday, which set another record.
KSC employees who would not miss work would include services like police and fire.
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex said it would stay open, too.
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