President-elect Donald Trump selected businessman and experienced commercial astronaut, Jared Isaacman, 41, on Wednesday to head up NASA and work towards “advancing the new space economy.”
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“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” said President Trump.
“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 added.
Isaacman responded to Trump’s nomination by painting a hopeful picture of the nation’s “second space age,” highlighting the potential benefits of space travel, expressing his hope that one day people will live and work in space.
He echoed Elon Musk’s commonly expressed goal of making humanity a true spacefaring civilization.
“There will inevitably be a thriving space economy—one that will create opportunities for countless people to live and work in space. At NASA, we will passionately pursue these possibilities and usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization,” said Isaacman.
“I was born after the Moon landings; my children were born after the final space shuttle launch. 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,” he continued.
He also promised to once again bring Americans to walk on the Moon and to take Americans even farther afield, setting his sights on Mars.
No Americans have walked on the moon since Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed there as part of the Apollo 17 mission.
Isaacman is an experienced commercial astronaut and has worked closely with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
In September, Isaacman commanded SpaceX’s four-person Polaris Dawn mission, flying in a SpaceX Dragon further from Earth than anyone has been in the 50 years since the Apollo program ended.
On that mission, Isaacman became the first ever commercial astronaut to perform an extravehicular spacewalk.
Outside his work as an astronaut, Isaacman founded Draken International, an aeronautics company that provides a variety of aircraft for use in military training exercises.
When he was only 16 years old, Isaacman founded Shift4, a successful payment processing company.
