KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The Kennedy Space Center will stay open despite a potential government shutdown and employees will still get paid, but there are a few things to consider.

As we inch closer to a potential shutdown, Spectrum News is looking into the impacts a government shutdown could have in Central Florida, specifically on operations at Kennedy Space Center.

A shutdown would lead to the furlough of thousands of federal employees and the suspension of several government services.

The Kennedy Space Center visitor complex will stay open if a government shutdown happens.

Spectrum News read through a 56-page document that was last revised on Sept. 13, 2023. It stated that NASA employees who are furloughed will get paid.

(Scroll down to read the document.)

All employees will be paid for the time they’re affected by a shutdown furlough, but it wouldn’t be immediate.

Some “excepted” employees or those who are required to work during a lapse in funding and work on essential services, would stay on the job. Based on previous shutdowns, that would be a few hundred employees.

According to the documents, because of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, “federal employees affected by a lapse in government funding will be retroactively paid as soon as possible after the shutdown is over.”

Furlough back-pay paychecks may be “slightly delayed,” which depends on the length of the shutdown.

If this potential shutdown starts on Sunday, and a NASA employee is furloughed, he or she cannot volunteer to work in a non-pay status. If the employee gets unemployment compensation, he or she will have to repay that.

NASA Shutdown Furlough Guide for Employees