# What are the astronauts in orbit doing during the shutdown? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113 "2013-10-01T17:58:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/1 "2013-10-01T17:58:21Z")
With the government shutdown, NASA has furloughed all but 600 of it’s employees ([wiki cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_government_shutdown_of_2013#National_Aeronautics_and_Space_Administration)), but notes that they will still support astronauts on the ISS. Question is: since I presume the astronaut’s experiments are also being put on hold, what will they end up doing? Aside from the normal “stay alive” stuff, can they conduct personal experiments? Will we get more music videos in the vein of [Space Oddity](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4olOmOgNn0)? Or are they limited to whatever personal books and media they brought with them? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/2 "2013-10-01T18:20:06Z")
In space, no one can hear you writing a nasty letter to your congressman. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/3 "2013-10-01T18:23:01Z")
Just as some NASA employees on the ground are deemed excepted employees and will continue to work, those aboard the ISS are probably also deemed excepted employees and will continue to work. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/4 "2013-10-01T18:31:54Z")
Are their paychecks direct deposited here on earth? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/5 "2013-10-01T18:36:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Are their paychecks direct deposited here on earth? Federal employees are required to have direct deposit. There is no requirement to my knowledge that it must be on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/6 "2013-10-01T18:37:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Are their paychecks direct deposited here on earth? Yeah, the ISS ATM is busted. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/7 "2013-10-01T18:43:38Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Yeah, the ISS ATM is busted. For heaven’s sake, how many more lives must be destroyed… ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/8 "2013-10-01T18:44:35Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Just as some NASA employees on the ground are deemed excepted employees and will continue to work, those aboard the ISS are probably also deemed excepted employees and will continue to work. But no new air will be allotted. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/9 "2013-10-01T18:56:04Z")
I imagine NASA employees who directly support ongoing experiments on ISS are excepted from furloughs. Also, many experiments are run by organizations other than NASA. (Universities, other research organizations, foreign space agencies, etc.) Also, many of the NASA support staff are contractors. They are generally not furloughed, unless their workplace is completely closed due to the shutdown. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/10 "2013-10-01T18:57:14Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Yeah, the ISS ATM is busted. If we can send a man to the moon…Oh wait. We can’t do that anymore, can we? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/11 "2013-10-01T19:02:38Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Federal employees are required to have direct deposit. There is no requirement to my knowledge that it must be on Earth. I was really just curious on their pay status. Personally, if I were an employed person and my checks stopped coming, I would stop working. I’m like that.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/12 "2013-10-01T19:20:49Z")
Other than hang out and keep the station running because it keeps them alive until their mission is done, what do ISS 'nauts do, anyway? (Certainly not any of the big, bold things we used to imagine those living on orbital stations would do. Listening to the computers hum and wondering what happened to Major Tom doesn’t really match up.) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/13 "2013-10-01T19:30:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I was really just curious on their pay status. My understanding is, the excepted employees will only get paid after Congress & President restore funding. So the “excepted” personnel are working without pay until then. Also, I think the people who process payroll are on furlough. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/14 "2013-10-01T19:54:26Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Other than hang out and keep the station running because it keeps them alive until their mission is done, what do ISS 'nauts do, anyway? (Certainly not any of the big, bold things we used to imagine those living on orbital stations would do. Listening to the computers hum and wondering what happened to Major Tom doesn’t really match up.) There’s a variety of experiments done that they keep going, from biological things like seeing if mice can get pregnant and give birth in space to how well certain materials hold up to the radiation in Earth orbit. Some of those, I suppose, would still need to be maintained (gotta feed whatever you brought with you). Now, clearly the people responsible for keeping the astronauts alive would be exempt, but what’s the legal reason astronauts themselves would be exempt (other than the assertion that they can’t NOT go to work). It’s not like national defense depends on them. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/15 "2013-10-01T20:02:26Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > There’s a variety of experiments done that they keep going, from biological things like seeing if mice can get pregnant and give birth in space to how well certain materials hold up to the radiation in Earth orbit. Aren’t nearly all of those encapsulated - that is, the astronauts do little more than what lab technicians do in most labs? Has a real scientist ever spent time in orbit doing real science - beyond letting a preconfigured experiment package run, or taking observations for later use? Has anything ever been done on ISS that couldn’t be done by a relatively unskilled lab assistant? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/16 "2013-10-01T20:03:31Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > Now, clearly the people responsible for keeping the astronauts alive would be exempt, but what’s the legal reason astronauts themselves would be exempt (other than the assertion that they can’t NOT go to work). It’s not like national defense depends on them. Activities necessary to protect life and properties are excepted. Astronauts maintain the space station and keep it operational and safe, which also protects their own lives. Also, things like keeping lab animals alive also count as “protecting properties.” ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/17 "2013-10-01T20:14:59Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Other than hang out and keep the station running because it keeps them alive until their mission is done, what do ISS 'nauts do, anyway? (Certainly not any of the big, bold things we used to imagine those living on orbital stations would do. Listening to the computers hum and wondering what happened to Major Tom doesn’t really match up.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KaOC9danxNo/maxresdefault.jpg "Space Oddity") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo) Break time - let’s have a sing-song. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/18 "2013-10-01T20:19:58Z")
They’ve done, and are doing, a lot on the ISS: [Scientific research on the International Space Station - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_research_on_the_International_Space_Station) One thing that won’t happen for the foreseeable future is the official opening of the ISS Bar and Grille. No atmosphere, y’know. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/19 "2013-10-01T20:21:21Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Has a real scientist ever spent time in orbit doing real science - beyond letting a preconfigured experiment package run, or taking observations for later use? Of course ISS experiments are either remote controlled, autonomous, or only require a “lab technician” (astronaut) to operate. There isn’t enough life support and launch capacity to accommodate scientists. It was a little different with the Shuttle; many scientists went up as [Payload Specialist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_Specialist). By the way, “taking observations for later use” is usually a scientist’s job, because a lab technician may not have the expertise and training to judge whether the equipment is running correctly, whether it’s configured correctly for that particular science goal, etc. And space science is always done with a custom built equipment. The person best qualified to operate it is the person who was in charge of designing and building the instrument (i.e. the Principle Investigator of the project). That is a scientist’s job. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113/20 "2013-10-01T20:26:37Z")
Yeah, I know all that, scr4. It just seems a little… pathetic compared to the goals we set out with. Staying alive in a big tin can and watching plants grow and mice mate just doesn’t sound like the future of mankind in space. Elendil: I’ve heard that there are next to no cites of ISS experimental work; that it’s of little use or influence. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-astronauts-in-orbit-doing-during-the-shutdown/670113.md?page=2)