Official NASA press release or announcement

Trump Picks Shift4 CEO and Private Astronaut Jared Isaacman to Lead NASA

Dec 4, 2024, 04:46 PM

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut, to serve as the next Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Isaacman is the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments ($FOUR) and the founder of Draken International. A close ally of Elon Musk, he has commanded two SpaceX missions—inspiration4 aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Polaris Dawn—and was the first private astronaut to perform a spacewalk earlier this year. Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social, praising Isaacman as an "accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut" who would "drive NASA's mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in space science, technology, and exploration." The appointment is expected to usher in a bold, business-oriented direction for NASA, with aims to return to the Moon and eventually reach Mars.