President-elect Donald Trump has tapped a billionaire space tourist to lead NASA.
Jared Isaacman, 41, with a net worth of $1.9 billion, has been nominated for the space agency’s Administrator, replacing former politician Bill Nelson.
‘I am honored to receive President Trump’s nomination to serve as the next Administrator of NASA,’ Isaacman posted on X.
‘Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history.’
If confirmed, he would oversee the space agency’s roughly $25 billion budget heavily focused on returning humans to the moon under its Artemis program, a multibillion-dollar effort that will rely heavily on SpaceX‘s Starship.
Isaacman, CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, is also expected to double down on the agency’s strategy to rely on private companies for accessing space.
He has flown to space twice, one of which saw him conduct the first civilian spacewalk, making him just the second Administrator to visit the final frontier.
Trump’s pick for NASA came months earlier than past presidential transitions as Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO and founder, has used his proximity to the president-elect to discuss missions to Mars and other space exploration matters that could boost SpaceX.
Jared Isaacman, 41, with a net worth of $1.9 billion, has been nominated as the space agency’s Administrator, replacing former politician Bill Nelson
He has flown to space twice, one of which saw him conduct the first civilian spacewalk, making him just the second Administrator to visit the final frontier
‘Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth,’ shared Isaacman.
‘It is the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and to work alongside NASA’s extraordinary team to realize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery.’
Trump’s first NASA chief, former Oklahoma congressman Jim Bridenstine, launched the Artemis program and persuaded Congress to increase the agency’s budget to fund it.
‘Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,’ Trump wrote on X.
‘[His] 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 criticized NASA’s heavy spending on Artemis under the Biden administration.
‘Spend billions on lunar lander redundancy that you don’t have with SLS at the expense of dozens of scientific programs. I don’t like it,’ Isaacman shared on X earlier this year.
The space agency has come under fire recently for overspending, specifically on DEI programs that cost Americans $22 million a year.
Trump’s pick for NASA came months earlier than past presidential transitions as Elon Musk , SpaceX’s CEO and founder, has used his proximity to the president-elect to discuss missions to Mars and other space exploration matters that could boost SpaceX
While Isaacman has recently become a household name in space, he was just getting his start in 2021 with the first all-civilian mission, Inspiration4.
Before the launch, he also started a fundraiser for St Jude Research Hospital, which raised more than $240 million.
Isaacman and his wife, Monica, are members of the hospital’s ALSAC, its fundraising and awareness organization, and have quietly helped numerous non-profits and charitable causes.
‘If you have the ability to help, you have the responsibility to help,’ Isaacman had previously said in an interview at St Jude.
Leading up to the 2021 mission, he said: ‘I truly want us to live in a world 50 or 100 years from now where people are jumping in their rockets like the Jetsons and there are families bouncing around on the moon with their kid in a spacesuits.’
And in 2024, he became the first civilian to perform a spacewalk when he ventured out into the final frontier more than 435 away from Earth.
Footage of the event showed Isaacman opening the hatch to space and pulling himself out into the void.
‘Back home we have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world,’ said Isaacman as he stepped out into space.
On Wednesday, Trump praised Isaacman for his more than 25-year career as a successful CEO.
‘Jared has demonstrated exceptional leadership, building a trailblazing global financial technology company,’ the president-elect shared.
‘He also co-founded and served as CEO of Draken International, a defense aerospace company, for over a decade, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and our Allies.
