Jared Isaacman, a tech billionaire who made the first private spacewalk in collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has been nominated by United States President-elect Donald Trump to lead NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The nomination of Isaacman was announced on Wednesday as Trump named a slew of appointments, including his former White House adviser Peter Navarro, who served prison time this year for obstructing a congressional investigation, as his senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing.
Isaacman, 41, a self-described “space geek” who made his money as the founder of a payment processing company, is also an accomplished fighter pilot who owns a Florida company that trains air force pilots.
He travelled into space in September with a mission to test SpaceX’s new, customised spacewalking suits.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Isaacman will replace Bill Nelson, 82, a former Democratic senator and astronaut, and would likely continue to work closely with Musk because NASA plans to use SpaceX’s Starship rocket to return astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The reusable rocket, the largest ever made, is currently undergoing test flights.
The space agency also uses SpaceX to deliver supplies and astronauts to and from the International Space Station. At the same time, NASA is expanding its horizons beyond the moon with unmanned spacecraft travelling to Jupiter’s moon Europa and exploring the surface of Mars for signs of living organisms.
Although NASA is not a cabinet-level agency like the Department of Defense, its head is nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate. While best known as the US government agency responsible for space exploration, NASA also conducts studies of the Earth using satellite technology as well as aeronautics research and testing new aircraft.
Isaacman said he was honoured to be nominated and would be “grateful to serve”. “Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history,” he said via X.
Musk congratulated Isaacman on X, describing him as a man of “high ability and integrity”.
Trump has now largely completed filling the top jobs in his administration. The nominees will go before the Senate for hearings starting in January.
Other appointments Trump made on Wednesday were Daniel Driscoll, a military veteran who was a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance, as army secretary and Adam Boehler, a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team, as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.
