The last time I wrote about billionaire entrepreneur and “Polaris Dawn” hero Jared Isaacman, his nomination to be the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had been pulled by the White House.
Space enthusiasts were crushed. According to The New York Times, President Trump learned that Isaacman had donated to prominent Democrats, which may have contributed to his decision to withdraw his nomination.
Since then, NASA has been headed by the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy (clearly, Trump is keen on having his team multi-task). And while diverting the leadership to the DOT may have made sense, Duffy can now return to a more Earth-bound focus as Isaacman was renominated and then officially confirmed to head the space agency.
A monthslong saga featuring tech billionaire Jared Isaacman — President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again pick to run NASA — has finally come to a close as the Senate confirmed his appointment in a 67-to-30 vote.Isaacman, a private astronaut and CEO of payments company Shift4, is now set to take the helm at NASA just weeks before the agency is expected to launch Artemis II, a mission that will carry four astronauts around the moon and mark the farthest into space humans have traveled since the Apollo program ended in 1972.When Trump first selected Isaacman for the NASA role in late 2024, the choice sparked excitement among space industry leaders who view Isaacman as a changemaker.
In May, Isaacman drafted “Project Athena” a roughly 60‑page internal “strategic plan” that lays out an aggressive blueprint for reshaping NASA. It emphasizes reorganizing the agency to cut bureaucracy, shifting more work to commercial partners, and refocusing major programs toward Mars and advanced technologies such as nuclear electric propulsion.
It appears as if he will be moving forward with his vision.
Mr. Isaacman highlighted three objectives: human space exploration of the moon, Mars and deep space; unlocking a larger space economy; and becoming a “force multiplier” for science missions, tapping into partnerships with commercial companies and academia to bring down costs.He has received broad support from the space community. “I think that puts NASA back on a good track,” said Todd Harrison, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, a center right think tank.That sentiment was shared by Senator Marie Cantwell, Democrat of Washington. On Wednesday, she highlighted the importance of returning NASA astronauts to the moon as she called on senators to support his nomination.“I am optimistic that Mr. Isaacman will bring a steady hand and clear vision to NASA,” she said. “I hope we can partner together, all of us, to achieve this incredible thing for the American people.”
It will be a very exciting time for Isaacman to take the helm. The Artemis II crewed orbit of the Moon is slated for early 2026.
At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, officials of the Artemis II mission gave a step-by-step briefing of what to expect when four humans journey back to the moon.It will send NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen to the moon, the first time humans visited the rocky satellite since 1972.Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said Artemis II will be a 10-day test flight that may be as early as Feb. 5, 2026, or further out, like April 2026.Hawkins said the launch date all depends on a variety of things, such as the position the moon is from Earth, technical readiness and even Earth and space weather.
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