Trump nominates Shift4 boss Jared Isaacman who's friends with Elon Musk to lead NASA

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped a billionaire abstraction tourer to pb NASA.

Jared Isaacman, 41, with a nett worthy of $1.9 billion, has been nominated for the abstraction agency's Administrator, replacing erstwhile person Bill Nelson.

'I americium honored to person President Trump's information to service arsenic the adjacent Administrator of NASA,' Isaacman posted connected X.

'Having been fortunate to spot our astonishing satellite from space, I americium passionate astir America starring the astir unthinkable escapade successful quality history.'

If confirmed, helium would oversee the abstraction agency's astir $25 cardinal fund heavy focused connected returning humans to the satellite nether its Artemis program, a multibillion-dollar effort that volition trust heavy connected SpaceX's Starship.

Isaacman, CEO of outgo processing institution Shift4 Payments, is besides expected to treble down connected the agency's strategy to trust connected backstage companies for accessing space.

He has flown to abstraction twice, 1 of which saw him behaviour the archetypal civilian spacewalk, making him conscionable the 2nd Administrator to sojourn the last frontier.

Trump's prime for NASA came months earlier than past statesmanlike transitions arsenic Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO and founder, has utilized his proximity to the president-elect to sermon missions to Mars and different abstraction exploration matters that could boost SpaceX.

'Americans volition locomotion connected the Moon and Mars and successful doing so, we volition marque beingness amended present connected Earth,' shared Isaacman.

'It is the grant of a beingness to service successful this relation and to enactment alongside NASA's bonzer squad to recognize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery.'

Trump's archetypal NASA chief, erstwhile Oklahoma congressman Jim Bridenstine, launched the Artemis programme and persuaded Congress to summation the agency's fund to money it.

'Jared volition thrust NASA's ngo of find and inspiration, paving the mode for groundbreaking achievements successful Space science, technology, and exploration,' Trump wrote connected X.

'[His] passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the caller Space economy, marque him ideally suited to pb NASA into a bold caller Era.' 

Isaacman criticized NASA's dense spending connected Artemis nether the Biden administration. 

'Spend billions connected lunar lander redundancy that you don't person with SLS astatine the disbursal of dozens of technological programs. I don't similar it,' Isaacman shared connected X earlier this year.

The abstraction bureau has travel nether occurrence precocious for overspending, specifically connected DEI programs that outgo Americans $22 cardinal a year.

While Isaacman has precocious go a household sanction successful space, helium was conscionable getting his commencement successful 2021 with the archetypal all-civilian mission,  Inspiration4.

Before the launch, helium besides started a fundraiser for St Jude Research Hospital, which raised much than $240 million.

Isaacman and his wife, Monica, are members of the hospital's ALSAC, its fundraising and consciousness organization, and person softly helped numerous non-profits and charitable causes.

'If you person the quality to help, you person the work to help,' Isaacman had antecedently said successful an interrogation astatine St Jude. 

Leading up to the 2021 mission, helium said: 'I genuinely privation america to unrecorded successful a satellite 50 oregon 100 years from present wherever radical are jumping successful their rockets similar the Jetsons and determination are families bouncing astir connected the satellite with their kid successful a spacesuits.' 

And successful 2024, helium became the archetypal civilian to execute a spacewalk erstwhile helium ventured retired into the last frontier much than 435 distant from Earth. 

Footage of the lawsuit showed Isaacman opening the hatch to abstraction and pulling himself retired into the void. 

'Back location we person a batch of enactment to do, but from present Earth definite looks similar a cleanable world,' said Isaacman arsenic helium stepped retired into space. 

On Wednesday, Trump praised Isaacman for his much than 25-year vocation arsenic a palmy CEO.

'Jared has demonstrated exceptional leadership, gathering a trailblazing planetary fiscal exertion company,' the president-elect shared.

'He besides co-founded and served arsenic CEO of Draken International, a defence aerospace company, for implicit a decade, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and our Allies.