Jared Isaacman has led two private spaceflights through SpaceX, in 2021 and 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Jared Isaacman, the billionaire CEO of payments company Shift4, who has led two private spaceflights and has conducted a spacewalk, to be the next head of NASA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaacman, 41, is a close associate of billionaire Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX. He is now in line to replace the current administrator, Bill Nelson, who was nominated by outgoing president Joe Biden in 2021 and who has also traveled into orbit, as part of a Space Shuttle mission in 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dJared will drive NASA\u2019s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,\u201d Trump wrote on Wednesday in a post on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaacman said he was honored to receive the nomination and looked forward to helping \u201cusher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith 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,\u201d he wrote on X, adding that \u201cAmericans will walk on the Moon and Mars and, in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter to Shift4 employees, Isaacman wrote he intends \u201cto remain CEO until my confirmation\u201d and to \u201cretain the majority of my equity interest,\u201d but will reduce his shareholder voting power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dAfter nearly 26 years leading Shift4, the time has come for me to embark on a new journey,\u201d the entrepreneur wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, Isaacman led the first all-civilian mission to space on a chartered flight with SpaceX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, he led the Polaris Dawn mission as SpaceX\u2019s crew of civilian astronauts conducted the first commercial spacewalk. The mission was meant to test new technologies and procedures that could be used in future space flights. The spacewalk lasted roughly two hours and was broadcast live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dBack at home we all have a lot of work to do but, from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world,\u201d Isaacman said during the spacewalk after emerging from the capsule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA has ties to SpaceX, relying on the company\u2019s rocket launches to take astronauts into space and bring supplies to the International Space Station. If confirmed as NASA administrator, Isaacman would oversee multi-billion-dollar contracts that the US government has awarded to SpaceX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n