Trump selects billionaire space tourist to lead NASA
US President-elect Trump has put forward Jared Isaacman, a leader in private space flights and an experienced spacewalker, as his nominee for the next head of NASA. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire CEO of Shift4, has successfully led two private spaceflights with SpaceX, one in 2021 and another slated for 2024. Following these achievements, US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Isaacman to be the next head of NASA.
At 41, Isaacman is an associate of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. His nomination comes as he is set to take over from the current NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden in 2021 and previously traveled into orbit during a Space Shuttle mission in 1986.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump declared, ”Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration.”
Isaacman expressed his gratitude for the nomination, stating he is eager to help “usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization.” He added, “With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place,” and emphasized that “Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and, in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.”
In a message to Shift4 employees, Isaacman stated that he aims “to remain CEO until my confirmation” and intends to “retain the majority of my equity interest,” although he plans to reduce his shareholder voting power. He voiced his sentiments in the letter, saying, ”After nearly 26 years leading Shift4, the time has come for me to embark on a new journey.”
Isaacman's previous achievements include leading the first all-civilian mission to space in 2021, which was a chartered flight with SpaceX. Earlier this year, he oversaw the Polaris Dawn mission, where a crew of civilian astronauts conducted the first commercial spacewalk. This mission aimed to test new technologies and procedures for future space flights and the spacewalk itself lasted about two hours, with the event streamed live.
During the spacewalk, he remarked, ”Back at home we all have a lot of work to do but, from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”
NASA relies on SpaceX for rocket launches to send astronauts into space and deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Should Isaacman be confirmed as NASA administrator, he would be responsible for overseeing the multi-billion-dollar contracts that the US government has awarded to SpaceX.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
At 41, Isaacman is an associate of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. His nomination comes as he is set to take over from the current NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden in 2021 and previously traveled into orbit during a Space Shuttle mission in 1986.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump declared, ”Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration.”
Isaacman expressed his gratitude for the nomination, stating he is eager to help “usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization.” He added, “With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place,” and emphasized that “Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and, in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.”
In a message to Shift4 employees, Isaacman stated that he aims “to remain CEO until my confirmation” and intends to “retain the majority of my equity interest,” although he plans to reduce his shareholder voting power. He voiced his sentiments in the letter, saying, ”After nearly 26 years leading Shift4, the time has come for me to embark on a new journey.”
Isaacman's previous achievements include leading the first all-civilian mission to space in 2021, which was a chartered flight with SpaceX. Earlier this year, he oversaw the Polaris Dawn mission, where a crew of civilian astronauts conducted the first commercial spacewalk. This mission aimed to test new technologies and procedures for future space flights and the spacewalk itself lasted about two hours, with the event streamed live.
During the spacewalk, he remarked, ”Back at home we all have a lot of work to do but, from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”
NASA relies on SpaceX for rocket launches to send astronauts into space and deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Should Isaacman be confirmed as NASA administrator, he would be responsible for overseeing the multi-billion-dollar contracts that the US government has awarded to SpaceX.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
