CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who became the first private individual to conduct a spacewalk, was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to lead NASA.
Isaacman, 41, is the CEO and founder of a card-processing company and has been closely involved with SpaceX since purchasing his first chartered spaceflight from Elon Musk. In 2021, he took contest winners along on that mission and later conducted a spacewalk in September to test SpaceX's new spacesuits.
If confirmed, Isaacman will succeed Bill Nelson, 82, a former Democratic senator from Florida nominated by President Joe Biden. Nelson, a former congressman, flew aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1986 — the mission just before the Challenger disaster.
Isaacman expressed his gratitude for the nomination, stating, “Having had the privilege to witness the beauty of our planet from space, I am deeply passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history.”
Under Nelson’s leadership, NASA made significant strides in its mission to return astronauts to the Moon. The Artemis program, named after the mythological twin sister of Apollo, aims to send four astronauts around the Moon in the coming year, followed by the first moon landing in over 50 years.
NASA is relying on SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which is currently undergoing test flights from Texas, to take astronauts to the lunar surface. SpaceX already helps NASA transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), as well as supply runs. Meanwhile, Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which launched its first crew in June, faced multiple issues that led to the two astronauts being stranded on the ISS for more than eight months. They are expected to return to Earth aboard a SpaceX flight in February, after what was meant to be an eight-day mission.
Additionally, NASA’s exploration of the solar system continues. Robotic missions are underway to explore the Moon, Jupiter’s moon Europa, and Mars, where the Perseverance rover is collecting rock and soil samples. NASA is also working to find a quicker, more affordable way to return these Martian samples to Earth, as the original plan grew to $11 billion with no samples expected before 2040.
Musk congratulated Isaacman on his nomination, praising his “high ability and integrity.”
A self-described “space geek,” Isaacman has been fascinated with space since childhood. At 16, he dropped out of high school, earned a GED, and started a business in his parents' basement, which became Shift4. He resides in eastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two young daughters. Isaacman set a world speed record in 2009 by flying around the globe while raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He also founded Draken International, the world’s largest private fleet of fighter jets.
Isaacman has already reserved two additional SpaceX flights, including one leading the first crewed mission of Starship into orbit around Earth.
