US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Jared Isaacman will be the next head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The CEO of Shift4 Payments is a close associate of Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX.
“Jared's passion for space, experience as an astronaut and dedication to expanding the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe and developing a new space economy make him the perfect candidate to lead NASA in a brave new era,” Trump wrote on his social media site announcing his selection. Isaacman as chief NASA.
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Jared Isaacman. Who is he?
Jared Isaacman is a 41-year-old American billionaire. He is the CEO of Shift4 Payments, a payment processing company. In addition, he is a pilot who in 2021 led Inspiration 4, the first commercial orbital space cruise, and in September this year he became the first private astronaut to perform a spacewalk as part of the Polaris Dawn mission. In both cases, he worked with SpaceX owner and Trump adviser Elon Musk.
If officially confirmed, Isaacman will oversee NASA's $25 billion budget. A huge part of this amount will go to returning humans to the Moon under the Artemis program.
“I am honored to be nominated by President Trump to be the next Administrator of NASA,” he wrote on the X platform, adding, among other things, that “at NASA we will passionately pursue opportunities and usher in an era in which humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization “.
Jared Isaacman will replace Bill Nelson, a former senator from Florida.
Main photo source: GettyImages