President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur and private space traveler Jared Isaacman to become the next NASA administrator. It came as a surprise to many, as Isaacman was not on anyone’s short list. But, on close examination, the decision should not have come as a surprise.
President-elect Trump stated, “Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era.”
Isaacman replied, “We will inspire children, yours and mine, to look up and dream of what is possible. Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.”
Reaction to Isaacman’s nomination has been almost universally positive.
Jim Bridenstine, who served as NASA administrator during Trump’s first term, stated, “Jared’s vision for pushing boundaries, paired with his proven track record of success in private industry, positions him as an ideal candidate to lead NASA into a bold new era of exploration and discovery.”
Ars Technica has a rundown of Isaacman’s career so far. He founded an online payment company, Shift4, in his parents’ basement at the age of 16 which made him a billionaire. He also owns Drakon International, which trains military pilots. Isaacman also discussed a space policy vision at a recent Space Power Conference.
Isaacman is famous for the two commercial space flights he arranged for and flew on using the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Inspiration4, which occurred in September 2021, raised money for St. Jude’s Children’s Cancer Research Hospital. Polaris Dawn, in September, took four astronauts, including Isaacman, farther from Earth than any human has flown since the Apollo program and featured the first commercial spacewalk using SpaceX-designed Extravehicular Activity suits.
Isaacman should sail through the confirmation process. He has the right combination of business and space experience that NASA needs right now. He will be before the Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz, (R-Texas), a great supporter of both NASA and commercial space,
After Isaacman is sworn in as NASA administrator, he will have much to do to turn the agency around so it can enable humankind’s expansion into space.
Isaacman will have to get NASA back on track in its relations with its commercial partners. The space agency has backslid a little bit and has started to micromanage fixed-price projects excessively.
NASA has rolled out a new plan for the next two Artemis flights. Artemis II will now fly in April 2026 and Artemis III, the first crewed moon landing in decades, is scheduled for mid-2027. NASA has found a workaround for the heat shield problem that cropped up during Artemis I.
Isaacman will want to make his own evaluation of this plan, slow and plodding as it is.
The schedule is utterly dependent on the expensive, difficult-to-operate Space Launch System, a launch vehicle that costs $4 billion to launch and flies only once every few years, unsustainable if we want to open the moon and Mars to human exploration. Ars Technica’s profile of Isaacman suggests that the days of the Space Launch System are numbered. But when would it go away, and what would replace it?
One idea would be to allow the NASA plan to go forward while working on commercial alternatives to get people to the moon and back. The Ars Technica article suggests launching the Orion on a commercial heavy lifter such as a New Glenn or Falcon Heavy, launching a Vulcan-Centaur, then using the Centaur stage to take the Orion the rest of the way to lunar orbit. Using the Starship to take people and cargo directly from the Earth to the moon is another option.
Other programs that Isaacman will have to look at will be the Axiom Extravehicular Activity suits, Lunar Gateway Station and the VIPER rover, which was canceled in July. All must be dealt with if we intend to return to the moon any time soon.
Isaacman once proposed the second Polaris mission to service the aging Hubble Space Telescope. NASA vetoed the mission, but it may return, now that Isaacman will become NASA chief.
Isaacman should be confirmed with all due speed so that he can hit the ground running as NASA administrator. He will need the full support of Congress, the White House and the commercial space sector to succeed in the great task of using NASA to make humanity a multi-planet species.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon? as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond,” and, most recently, “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.
