Trump Nominates Billionaire Jared Isaacman, Elon Musk Ally, as Next NASA Chief

Trump Nominates Billionaire Jared Isaacman: The US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he is going to nominate billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Isaacman, 41, is the founder and CEO of the Pennsylvania-based payment processing company Shift4. He flew to space twice on a commercial SpaceX mission, but he is not a NASA or federal government employee. Forbes estimates his net worth at about $1.9 billion.

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“I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration," he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Trump credited Isaacman for demonstrating "exceptional leadership" and mentioned his work in Shift4 and Draken International, a defence aerospace company created to support the Pentagon. “Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era," he said.

Isaacman said that he was honored by Trump's nomination and said he was all about America leading "the most incredible adventure in human history." He promised to lead NASA in the course of searching for all possibilities in space exploration and creating a thriving economy in space.

“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. We will inspire children, yours and mine, to look up and dream of what is possible. Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth," he said.

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Isaacman happens to be a business associate of SpaceX owner, Elon Musk. He is the first non-professional astronaut to enjoy a ride into space through SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn mission, which happens to occur in 2023. He also funded Inspiration4, which was SpaceX's first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth, in September 2021.

If Isaacman gets confirmed, he will take over NASA during a very important point in time for the aerospace agency in America's planning of key missions that will help return humans to the moon in upcoming years. The United States encounter increasing competition in its lunar explorations as China has made progress in these activities through its space programme.

He will take over from Bill Nelson, who has been in office since 2021 May onward. Nelson served the state of Florida as a senator from 2001 to 2019 and as a member of the US House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991.

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