By Esteban Fernandez, Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — President Donald Trump recommended Congress cut funding to NASA’s Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility in Fairmont by two thirds.
NASA’s 2026 discretionary budget request takes the IV&V facility’s budget from $43 million to $13 million. The majority of the cuts are in the safety, security and mission services programs the facility provides. According to the 2026 budget technical supplement, the cut is part of NASA’s plans to significantly reduce and restructure both the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and the IV&V program in an effort to consolidate the Agency Technical Authority program.
“Our desire is to see NASA’s presence grow in our community,” Jim Estep, president and CEO of the High Technology Foundation, said. “Every indication is that the work that’s been done here over the years has been good work. So it is frustrating that there appears to be, at least on the table right now, a reduction. The economic impact of having NASA in our community is going to be diminished by such a significant cut, at least as is proposed by the President’s budget.”
