Trump Picks Billionaire Astronaut Jared Isaacman, Ally of Elon Musk, to Lead NASA

Dec 4, 2024, 06:13 PM

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the next NASA Administrator. Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments and Draken International, is a close ally of Elon Musk and has strong ties to SpaceX. He commanded the Inspiration4 mission, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight using SpaceX's Crew Dragon, and completed the first private spacewalk during the Polaris Dawn mission earlier this year. In announcing the nomination, Trump stated, "I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of NASA." Isaacman's appointment signals a potential shift towards increased collaboration between NASA and private space companies.