Trump picks billionaire and private astronaut Jared Isaacman to run NASA
Jared Isaacman
Capitalism in space: In a decision that is certain to send shock waves throughout NASA and the established aerospace industry, President-elect Donald Trump today announced that he has chosen billionaire and private astronaut Jared Isaacman to be his nominee for NASA administrator.
Isaacman quickly accepted the nomination.
Besides being a jet pilot with extensive experience in the aerospace industry, Isaacman has also commanded two space missions, financed out of his own pocket. Both missions used SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Resilience capsule. Both also pointedly avoided any involvement with NASA, spending several days in free Earth orbit instead of docking with ISS. The second mission achieved several major engineering milestones, testing the first privately built spacesuit during a spacewalk while also flying farthest from Earth since the 1970s Apollo missions.
These flights were part of Isaacman’s own long term space program, dubbed Polaris, with two more missions already in planning stages. The first would be another Dragon orbital mission in which Isaacman had tried to get NASA to shape as a Hubble repair mission. NASA declined. The second is intended as a manned mission around the Moon using SpaceX’s Starship.
That program will now likely get folded into NASA’s Artemis program, which we can all expect Isaacman to force major changes. For one thing, this is another blow to the future of SLS and Orion. As a very successful businessman Isaacman will look with great skepticism at this boondoggle.
For another, Isaacman’s markedly different experiences working with SpaceX versus NASA will likely encourage major bureaucratic changes at the space agency. It is almost certain that Isaacman’s manned flights avoided ISS in order to avoid its Byzantine red tape, that would have likely also blocked use of SpaceX’s spacesuit on a private spacewalk. NASA’s decision to reject Isaacman’s proposal to do a simple but very necessary Hubble repair mission will also likely influence his management of the agency. Isaacman is going to force NASA to depend on the private sector more. He is also likely to reduce the agency’s risk adverse mentality that while often reasonable is many times very counter-productive.
Unlike many of Trump’s other radical nominees, I would be very surprised if Isaacman is not confirmed quickly and with little opposition.
Whether Isaacman will still fly his two remaining private Polaris manned missions is at this moment unknown. Practically it would make sense to cancel them, since he will have much bigger fish to fry at NASA. Emotionally and politically however it would be truly spectacular to have NASA’s administrator fly in space, on a mission using no taxpayer funds. That more than anything would demonstrate the ability of freedom and private enterprise to get things done.
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To me, the biggest positive about Jared Isaacman’s appointment is that Jared is likely going to understand the significance of the Starship fleet in a way that more traditional, conservative people like Greg Autry wouldn’t. In a Planetary Society interview before the election, Autry said that the idea that Starship could replace SLS was a belief for the SpaceX fanboys. So, I’m pretty relieved that Jared has been nominated to that position.
B-b-b-b-b-but does he know about the “dark” side of the moon, like the current head?
Dump SLS shares *
* not investment advice
Best nominee Trump has put forth, hands down.
The biggest beef against him will be his accumulated wealth…
Guys first private mission raised how much many millions for St Jude’s?
Not your typical billionaire.
Hoping to hear some other perspectives from you and your readers Bob.
Gee, wonder if he will allow himself to boost Hubble for free to NASA now?
“Unlike many of Trump’s other radical nominees…”
But are they really that radical?
The only obstacle might be that they WANT him to commit to SLS before confirmation.
It earned the nickname “Senate Launch System” for a reason.
Is the money allocated tied to the project via legislation?
I wonder how much input Elon had on this selection. I imagine Trump must have consulted him. It’s an outstanding choice, I’m excited.
Just the latest in a sterling line of nominations by Trump and one obviously informed by consultation with Elon. So Jared will get to be addressed by the title ‘Administrator’ before taking on the title of ‘Commodore’ when the first human settlement mission to Mars departs LEO parking orbit. Like the fighter pilot he is, Administrator Isaacman will lead from in front.
Hello Doug,
Interesting that bit about Autry. I clearly need to track that interview down. Disappointing, if true.
But yes, this makes Isaacman a superior pick. Now he just needs a good, experienced hatchet man as his deputy: someone who knows policy and knows where the bodies are buried.
I just can’t imagine Trump picking Isaacman without Elon being in his ear everyday. Space just isn’t an area Trump is plugged into. That said, the process for picking him could be more complex than we might think. Elon may have proposed multiple names. There could have been a lot of back and forth with the staff. Eric Berger apparently heard a rumor about it a week ago.
It’s striking, too, that Trump makes this pick in the first week of December. Invariably, a NASA chief is a second tier appointment that Presidents don’t get around to until at least a month or two into their term. Look how long it was before Bridenstine got nominated. Elon surely accelerated this appointment!
But either way, Elon has to be pretty darned happy today.
I was blown away when I read the news. Richard M, absolutely right, this is Elon’s influence. Awesome.
If you’re up for some indigestion, check out the comments to Stephen Clark’s article over at Ars technica. Holy…
Elon has a lot of company in that respect. Even out here in sunny SoCal we aren’t too far distant to hear the sounds of heads exploding by the dozen in Huntsville and DC.
Patrick,
LOL I was just over there. 5 pages of comments later it seems to tally up, roughly:
60% “Fascist billionaire oligarchy, here we come”
20% “Hey, it could have been worse”
20% “Say, he might actually do some good there”
What gives me hope is how many of the really deranged ones in Category 1 got downvoted to oblivion. These people are, literally, the anti-Bob Zimmerman.
I really don’t think Jared will have a hard time getting confirmed, so long as he doesn’t publicly promise to personally burn Michoud or MSFC to the ground over the next 12 weeks. He’s likable, articulate, has no political background, and has no known skeletons, and there are spicier picks ahead of him to draw the heavy fire. No, the hard part will come when he tries to start cancelling stuff.
And now there’s at least one antisemitic rant on Spacenews that’s still up as of a couple minutes ago. My goodness. These are SPACE sites. (Well; Ars is more of a generic GenZ “we’re-all-gonna-die” global warming etc. science/tech site, but… still.)
I like the sanity over here. Thanks for making it all possible, Mr. Zimmerman. Thinking about it, I need to make a very belated donation.
F–
He’s blabbing, all about Mars!
Total Recall (1990)
“You Blabbed….”
https://youtu.be/R_A0EEdVGAQ
1:46
*Language Alert*
That chap is a Russian troll. Comes with the territory.
Speaking of which….won’t Isaacman be the first Jewish NASA Administrator we’ve had?
No, wait…Robert Frosch, Carter’s NASA Administrator, apparently was Jewish. I guess that makes two now!
But Jared will definitely be the *youngest* NASA Administrator we have had.
By the way, Joey Roulette reports some of the other names that were being considered for the post: Kathy Lueders, who we all know, and Mike Garcia, the departing congressman for the 27th California congressional district. Garcia narrowly lost reelection last month. He’s a former Navy pilot, was on NASA’s House oversight committee.
Probably just as well for Kathy. I am sure she’d have to take a big pay cut.
That said, we now must wait to see who Trump names as the Deputy Administrator. Given Isaacman’s lack of first-hand experience with NASA, that job will be very important.
Richard M, I flagged him, for whatever good that does.
I wonder if Trump would be open to Lori Garver. I wonder if Garver would be open to working for Trump.
I had no idea Mr. Eagleson was such a a fan of SCANNERS :)
Eric Berger updates his projection of the Space Launch System’s chances of cancellation tonight: “75-25 for cancellation now.”
Someone follows up: “Even Block 1? with all the hardware?”
Eric: “Yep”
https://x.com/SciGuySpace/status/1864419205405159821
Of course, that leaves unclear the schedule of the cancellation. Would it get killed immediately, or after Artemis III, say? I think we know what almost all of us here prefer, and maybe even what Isaacman would prefer; but a) they still have to get that through a Congress with a razor thin GOP majority, and b) if Trump really is in a hurry to get someone on the Moon ASAP, the argument will be mooted that using SLS and Orion for two more missions, on hardware already built, could be faster than any other commercial-ish architectures that can be cooked up on short notice. I’m not saying I *agree* with that; but these are considerations that will shape just how fast this thing gets killed, if indeed it is destined for the ash heap.
Meanwhile, Homer Hickam jumps into Eric’s replies to renew his plea for a different kind of ending for SLS: “The #SLS in the pipeline now should be completed & used for a cargo flight TBD. The rest of the program, every nut, bolt, & scrap, should be cancelled. Artemis, as presently designed, should also be cancelled & a new clean sheet put forth to get the USA ASAP back to the moon, to build an outpost there & set up permanent shop.”
https://x.com/realhomerhickam/status/1864455393055002642
P.S. Homer’s battle with cancer isn’t over. Keep him in your prayers!
Richard M: I wonder if you guys note elsewhere that my prediction for SLS’s cancellation has been around 90% since after the election, and with today’s pick of Isaacman I predict 100%. It will not last past the Artemis 3 launch, and I predict the chances of that launch being cancelled at about 85%. (As soon as Isaacman reviews the Orion heat shield situation he is going to shut it down.)
‘Private Space,
Private Space Man
Government’s going to lose control
When Private Space starts to jam’
Laissez les bons temps rouler
Ars technica 🤪
When I started following SpaceX launches I would go here to read comments to learn more about what I was watching (had been away for a long time due to work load but retired now). Didn’t take long to realize MDS is as real as TDS.
Took awhile but I happened to have a screenshot (frequently take to use with my puzzle app) of the lost booster as it touched down. Since there were lots of comments, I joined up then explained and posted the picture since it showed the engines didn’t go to 0 on landing like all previous ones. Made a few other comments on other posts but mostly stuck to reading for information and ideas.
Then Berger recently posted a story with comments about Trump and Musk (Sorry I bought his books too long ago to return but never again.) The MDS insanity was so bad I finally went on and made a comment about the total waste of time the site was becoming with the childish whining about the person that was driving the vast majority of what was happening with space and I would start looking for someplace else. Logged out after. No idea how many downvotes that got but, as I told them, I didn’t care. Frankly it would only confirm I was right to be disgusted.
I’ve only read a few since then (miss the comments that are actually informative and helpful and the obvious MDS wasn’t as bad) but hadn’t seen yesterday’s so thanks for the warning, I won’t waste my time wading through the crying. I sometimes go to SpaceNews and already know there is a minor MDS issue there but no where near as bad as Ars. Guess they might appeal more to grownups.
Brilliant insight as usual Bob. I’m really excited about Isaacman’s nomination, especially what portends for the Gateway tollbooth, SLS, and Hubble life extension, not to mention the potential of Starship’s role in space development and what you call The New Colonial Movement. We live in interesting times!
“That program will now likely get folded into NASA’s Artemis program”
That would be a very good way to entirely stop any progress. Unless NASA gets an Augean cleaning first. The Mississippi has enough water, but likely doesn’t flow fast enough.
You would need to fire most NASA staff (pretty much anyone who’s worked there for more than a year), and remove and replace the regulatory framework under which it works.
Just saw this from Eric Berger:
“Multiple sources have told Ars that the SLS rocket—which has long had staunch backing from Congress—is now on the chopping block. No final decisions have been made, but a tentative deal is in place with lawmakers to end the rocket in exchange for moving US Space Command to Huntsville, Alabama.”
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/how-did-the-ceo-of-an-online-payments-firm-become-the-nominee-to-lead-nasa/
As a political jujitsu move, I have to say, this is rather awe-inspiring.
This also, you will notice, rewards a deep red state and punishes a blue state (Colorado). The sort of SLS-replacing commercial solutions keep most of the major contractors in the game, as Eric notes — save for Boeing, which has no part to play in any successor architecture.
I’m not sure Richard Shelby would have considered it sufficient, but Shelby’s gone, Britt does not have quite his pull, and Trump frankly has more power over congressional Repuiblicans than he did in 2017-21.
Berger in the comment box emphasizes that this is not yet a done deal. But I think it looks like it *could* work, if they keep at it.
All: I just posted a detailed report of today’s NASA press conference on Artemis, SLS, and Orion. Comments there are welcome.
I live in Colorado Springs and work for a defense company that supplies Space Command. So naturally I should support keeping SC here in Colorado… but I don’t. Move it to Alabama, that’s fine. Whatever it takes. I’m sick of watching that useless “monster rocket” eat NASA alive.
SLS: Send Loser-like folks Space-ward
Send all SLS supporters to space on the last SLS launch.
Prove that y’all truly believe in the project’s efficacy.
Not holding my breath. Where’s my asthma inhaler?