Incoming Nasa administrator Jared Isaacmanhas said that US troops in space are “absolutely inevitable” in order to protect the country’s economic interests.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated the tech billionaire to be the next head of the US space agency last week, saying that he would “lead Nasa into a bold new era”.
Speaking at the Space Force Association’s Spacepower 2024 conference in Orlando, Florida, Mr Isaacman said plans to send more humans into space will involve some members of the US military.
“I think it is absolutely inevitable,” he said. “If Americans are in low Earth orbit, there’s going to need to be people watching out for them.
“This is the trajectory that humankind is going to follow. America is going to lead it and we’re going to need guardians there on the high ground looking out for us.”
Mr Isaacman, 41, has previously flown to space on two self-funded missions aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, though his new role working for the US government has put any future trips on hold.
One of his goals as the new head of Nasa is to help build the space economy, which could involve mining, manufacturing and energy.
He urged private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin to “crack the code on something other than what we’ve been doing for a while”, adding, “the space economy has been more or less the same for 60 years”.
Following his nomination, Mr Isaacman said: “Space holds unparalleled potential for breakthroughs in manufacturing, biotechnology, mining, and perhaps even pathways to new sources of energy.
“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.”
He did not give a timeframe for the first military personal travelling to space, though suggested it would be around the time that Nasa establishes a permanent presence on the Moon as part of its Artemis program.
The incoming Nasa administrator is not the first to indicate that US troops will be sent to space, with retired Lieutenant General John Shaw saying in 2020 that the Defence Department would establish command centres beyond Earth.
