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It was that kind of performance that sparked an immediate

Aug. 6, 2017 by Katherine Berry

It was that kind of performance that sparked an immediate reaction on Twitter, with people saying Lueders should resign, or at least end her role at NASA. But even though some NASA employees were in attendance, others were not.

“On a personal level, I'm not sure that all the astronauts are going to be able to do,” said Dr. Mark Geragos, a fellow at the Kennedy Space Center who was there in the audience. "I'm not sure there will be a single NASA person who is going to go out there and try to do those things,” he said. "But if I'm going to do something, I think we have to keep doing it."

“As of this evening, there are about 2,500 astronauts in space who have spent years as part of the U.S. Air Force Space Force Program. That has been the job of a team of nearly 10,000 employees who work with the federal government to protect America's astronauts, and the NASA astronauts whose careers are so closely intertwined with their nation's space endeavors.

On Friday night, NASA's chief scientific officer, Brian Krebs, announced that his job had been terminated. Krebs, who was also at the ceremony, said the move could be seen as a political statement to the president.

"The president's office will not be able to confirm or deny the termination of the NASA astronaut who has been part of NASA for nine years," Krebs wrote on Twitter. "This decision has not been made, and our employees will not be forced to go to the moon again."

That statement was followed by a statement from the Trump campaign.