President Trump nominates billionaire and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman to head NASA

Who is Jared Isaacman, whom President-elect Trump has nominated to head NASA?

Written by Lee Billings

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur, aviator, and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. The selection comes as the $25 billion-a-year space agency faces intense pressure to return U.S. astronauts to the moon as part of the over-budget and behind-the-schedule Artemis program. , while also balancing the International Space Station and the end result of the vast space program. , an ambitious portfolio of space science and aviation initiatives.

Isaacman’s nomination must be approved by the Senate next year.

“Jared will advance NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for breakthroughs in space science, technology and exploration,” President Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “Jared’s passion for space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unraveling the mysteries of space, and driving a new space economy will help lead NASA into a bold new era. He’s an ideal person.”

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Lori Gerber, who served as NASA’s deputy administrator under the Obama administration and helped spark the ongoing renaissance of U.S. commercial spaceflight, called Isaacman’s selection a “much-needed fresh perspective.” I praise it.

“[Isaacman]is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about both aviation and space,” she says. “Because he does not have a traditional aerospace industry background, he is likely to pursue a transformative agenda for NASA, accelerating progress while the community may balk at the inevitable disruption.” The current human spaceflight program, fraught with cost overruns and schedule delays, has been considered “acceptable” for far too long. ”

Isaacman, 41, is the founder and CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments and founder of defense company Draken International. He is also a philanthropist, raising and donating hundreds of millions of dollars to causes such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. But in the space world, he is best known as the leader of Polaris, a private manned orbital spaceflight program that relies on rockets, spacecraft and spacesuits from Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.

Musk, who President Trump chose with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will slash the federal budget, is a close ally of Isaacman, and Shift 4 is working with SpaceX. It has extensive financial relationships. The connections between the two men and their companies could have significant implications for NASA, leading to a possible realignment of the space agency’s priorities and funding. NASA already relies heavily on SpaceX to transport crews to and from the ISS, and has tasked the company with safely deorbiting the habitat in the 2030s. The Starship mega-rocket being developed by SpaceX is also a key component for NASA’s future Artemis mission, which will transport astronauts to and from the moon.

John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University and founding director of the Space Policy Institute, said, “Given[Isaacman’s]career in commercial spaceflight and the specter that lurks with Musk, the people at NASA… I think we should be a little worried.” . “But a new administration, a new administrator, will take a hard look at their agency’s major programs. (Isaacman’s) choice is a rational one and one that will be positive for the nation’s space program.” “He clearly understands NASA’s central focus on human spaceflight.”

Isaacman has flown into space twice: first for civilian purposes in 2021 inspiration 4 Mission, and again this September Polaris Dawn This mission set a high-altitude record for human orbital spaceflight (surpassed only by the Apollo astronauts to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s). On the latter mission, Isaacman conducted the first daring commercial spacewalk in history. Both flights used SpaceX assets: the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft. Two more Polaris missions have been announced (the second will use similar hardware and the third will fly in SpaceX’s Starship vehicle), but their current status is unclear.

Isaacman, who funded previous flights and the rest of the Polaris program, has not disclosed how much he paid for SpaceX’s services. For a while, he worked with NASA and SpaceX in hopes of making a second Polaris mission to the iconic Hubble Space Telescope a reality, but the space agency took a backseat to those plans earlier this year. . The aging observatory is suffering from hardware failures and its orbit is slowly declining. Isaacman had proposed that the Dragon spacecraft rendezvous with Hubble, raise the telescope to a higher orbit, and upgrade its equipment through a spacewalk.

“This nomination will probably change the context for the next two missions,” Logsdon said. “Being a NASA administrator is a full-time job, and I think devoting time to training for and participating in orbital missions would be a distraction.”

John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut and former NASA science chief, helped space agency officials vet Isaacman’s Hubble proposal, which would require less human visits, be cheaper and less risky. They point out that low-cost robotic missions have the potential to extend the life of the observatory. “Obviously, (Isaacman) is excited about space, which is a very good thing, but he’s also a risk-taker. And NASA administrators need to take risks. manager–That’s a completely different job. ”

Isaacman declared his readiness to take on the role in a statement on Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “With President Trump’s support, I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to aim for the stars, and we will never settle for second place,” he wrote. “We inspire you and my children to dream of possibilities and look upwards. Americans will walk on the moon and Mars, and in doing so we will make life better on Earth.” It is the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and work with the extraordinary team at NASA to realize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery.”