No longer in the running to head NASA, Jared Isaacman turns focus to private space missions

Yahoo

5 days ago

Jared Isaacman may no longer have a shot at leading NASA, but that doesn't mean the billionaire and private astronaut is done with space.
In one of his first public appearances since President Donald Trump withdrew his nomination for him to be NASA administrator, Isaacman indicated he still has an interest in facilitating private spaceflight missions. The billionaire, who has been to space twice in two previous missions jointly funded with SpaceX, also hasn't ruled out making another cosmic venture now that he'll have more free time on his hands.
Isaacman's recent comments came June 21 after he received the National Space Society's Wernher von Braun Award for Polaris Dawn, the private astronaut mission he commanded in September 2024, SpaceNews.com reported. After a prepared speech, Isaacman also spoke of what his priorities would have been had he been confirmed as NASA administrator.
Here's what Isaacman recently discussed, as well as what to know about the billionaire spaceflight enthusiast.
In comments after a speech at the National Space Society's conference, Isaacman reportedly indicated his interest in exploring space outside of the agency, according to SpaceNews.
Isaacman's comments come at a difficult time for NASA − the agency faces steep budget cuts that can put several exploration missions at risk. Isaacman said in June that as NASA administrator, he would have sought partnerships with academic institutions that would have given such organizations a bigger role in funding.
Rather than focusing on human spaceflights missions, Isaacman suggested he's more interested now in bankrolling uncrewed robotic missions.
Isaacman's Polaris Dawn mission was intended to be the first of three missions he planned to fund under the Polaris Program. While he set those missions aside when he was nominated to lead NASA, it's unclear just when, or if, he'll pick them back up.
But in previous comments on social media, Isaacmen left the door open to going to space again.
"I have not flown my last mission," Isaacman said in a post May 31 on social media site X after Trump pulled his nomination to head NASA. "Whatever form that may ultimately take – but I remain incredibly optimistic that humanity's greatest spacefaring days lie ahead."
Isaacman, founder of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, has been to space twice under his private spaceflight venture known as the Polaris Program.
The most recent expedition drew plenty of headlines in September 2024 when Isaacman flew with an all-civilian crew of amateur spacefarers on a mission he jointly funded with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
During the mission, known as Polaris Dawn, the four-member crew ascended to 870 miles above Earth's surface – higher than any crewed vehicle has traveled since NASA's Apollo era ended in the 1970s. Two days into the mission, they became the first non-government astronauts to complete a spacewalk when both Isaacman and crew member Sarah Gillis exited the Dragon capsule separately for about 10 minutes each to take in the endless black expanse of outer space.
Isaacman's first trip to space came when he commanded the first all-civilian space crew in 2021 aboard a SpaceX capsule as part of a mission known as Inspiration4. Netflix filmed a documentary about the Inspiration4 mission.
By that time, space tourists had already begun taking short trips to the edge of space with companies like Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. But Inspiration4 became known as the world's first all-civilian extended mission to space, with Isaacman, who funded the spaceflight, and three others spending three days living in orbit and conducting research.
Isaacman's nomination to lead NASA was well-received by most of the space community and members of Congress.
But at a critical time when the U.S. space agency is preparing to return humans to the moon and send the first astronauts to Mars, Trump suddenly pulled Isaacman's bid in late May. The decision came after Isaacman had cleared the Senate Commerce Committee in April and appeared on track for a full Senate vote.
Though Trump never offered a concrete reason for the about-face, Isaacman faced some pushback in the Senate for his close ties to Musk at a time when the SpaceX founder was on his way out of the White House. Other reports have suggested Isaacman's past donations to Democrats may have influenced Trumps decision, who said in a statement that "the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump's America First agenda."
Trump, who said on Truth Social that he will propose a new nominee, first announced Isaacman's nomination in a December 2024 post, saying, 'Jared will drive NASA's mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in space science, technology, and exploration.'
NASA has now lacked a full-time administrator since Bill Nelson stepped down on Jan. 20, the day of Trump's inauguration.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Brooke Edwards, FLORIDA TODAY
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [e-mail]
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: After Trump pulls Isaacman NASA bid, billionaire eyes next space mission