HUNTSVILLE, Ala (WHNT) — NASA and the presence of Marshall Space Flight Center play a key role in making Huntsville the “Rocket City.”
Additionally, their Office of STEM Engagement has long been a big part of creating opportunities and offering higher education for students as well. Although with the president’s current budget for fiscal year 2026, that office’s budget, known as ‘OSTEM,’ is set to be eliminated.
Landon Bruski and his family currently live in Huntsville. He attends the University of Alabama and just finished an internship with NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center.
“I wanted to gain some experience, especially being in Huntsville with aerospace to maybe look into it in the future but to also get a hands on perspective to working for the government,” Bruski said.
He said the ten-week program was funded through the Office of STEM Engagement.
“I wasn’t the one to sit in the background or watch other people do the work,” he said. “I was the one contributing. I, as an intern, helped and contributed to the mission, and I believe that us interns were trusted with real responsibility and my input was taken seriously.”
He said his time with NASA was extremely valuable, but now he’s concerned about what the internship program will look like in the future due to the president’s proposed 2026 budget.
In years past, OSTEM was allotted 143 million dollars, and in 2026, that number is set to be zero. You can find that information on NASA’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Technical Supplement on page 361.
“The funding was crucial and one of the big ways that they were able to focus on the mission, focus on working at NASA, and not focusing on these other externalities,” Bruski said.
He said the internship is filled with more than 150 students from across the world, and the budget cut diminishes access for these students.
“Without financial assistance, a lot of these students wouldn’t have been able to have the opportunity to be a full-time intern and to spend the ten weeks in Huntsville,” he said.
He described OSTEM as the “bridge” that connects students to future jobs in space exploration and defense work. He hopes Congress will consider increasing the budget to help continue to grow the workforce for space and defense jobs in the Huntsville area.
NASA provided News 19 with this statement regarding the future of OSTEM:
“President Trump’s budget for fiscal year 2026 focuses NASA’s resources on its core mission of space exploration. NASA will continue to inspire the next generation of explorers through exciting, ambitious space missions that demonstrate American leadership in space. As the budget has not yet been enacted, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further about mission specifics at this time. If you’re interested in learning more about specifics of the president’s budget request for NASA for FY2026, please see the technical supplement online at: https://www.nasa.gov/budget.
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