Meet Jared Isaacman—the new NASA administrator, replacing Sean Duffy. This 42-year-old billionaire and amateur jet pilot has officially been confirmed to make the foreign policy equivalent of that play. This groundbreaking appointment represents a major breakthrough. For the first time in decades, someone from outside of the government will be leading the agency. The U.S. Senate confirmed Isaacman’s nomination on Wednesday in a strong 67-30 vote. This cements his extremely central role in determining the direction of human space exploration going forward.
Isaacman made headlines last year for becoming the first non-professional astronaut to perform a spacewalk. As of mid-2022, his net worth is estimated at $1.2 billion. He mostly made his riches through his payment processor company. On top of that, he racked up hundreds of millions selling a company that trained pilots and flew a private armada of military planes. His innovative spirit and entrepreneurial background should infuse new energy and ideas into the historically hidebound agency.
In December of 2020, toward the end of his presidency, President Trump announced Isaacman’s nomination. He pulled it back in May after a public spat broke out that featured Elon Musk. Isaacman’s leadership was especially crucial in advancing NASA’s mission. Trump re-nominated Isaacman in November.
In his new role, Isaacman hopes to make NASA a “force multiplier for science.” He passionately supports building better, more robust partnerships between NASA and the academic community. He is convinced that teamwork is the only way to reach high scientific ambition. He stated, “This is not the time for delay but a time for action because if we fall behind – if we make a mistake – we may never catch up, and the consequences could shift the balance of power here on Earth.”
Isaacman unsurprisingly is totally on board with President Trump’s lunar mining agenda. Indeed, he’s publicly celebrated the $3.4 billion NASA contract awarded to Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ company, just last month. He is committed to funding any potential opportunity for NASA programs to flourish. This is a great example of his fierce determination to ensure that scientific efforts prosper and flourish. He remarked, “I will explore every option to get the program to the pad, even funding it myself if that’s what it takes to deliver the science.”
With this test flight, Isaacman is stepping into a leadership role. He’ll need to chart a course through the increasingly competitive and complex landscape of space exploration while facilitating innovation and collaboration among the agency’s many centers. His background as a former amateur pilot allows him to be frank. As an entrepreneur, he will bring fresh perspectives to further accelerate NASA’s amazing work as we continue to explore new frontiers.