Trump picks tech billionaire for NASA: What it means for space industry future
Private astronaut and payment tech CEO **Jared Isaacman** gets nod to lead NASA. His selection signals big shift toward commercial space focus and cost-cutting measures at the agency
Jared Isaacman‚ the boss of Shift4 Payments and experienced space-traveler got picked by Trump to run NASA (on dec 6th). Heʼs done some cool stuff - like doing the first-ever private spacewalk this fall; which makes him pretty special in the space world
The tech-savvy CEO wants to change how things work at NASA: his plan is to make space more business-friendly and speed things up. But its not going to be easy - he needs to deal with the agencyʼs huge 25-billion-dollar budget and make some tough choices about old-school programs
I envision a thriving space economy that will help humanity become a true spacefaring civilization
Elon Musk thinks Isaacman is the right person for the job - theyʼve worked together on SpaceX stuff before. The word is Musk told Trump that Isaacman would be perfect for NASA; and now heʼs saying nice things about him on social media
Some big-money projects might get a second look under Isaacmanʼs watch:
* The Space Launch System rocket (costs 24-billion)
* The new moon-orbiting Gateway station
* The Mars sample return mission
* The Artemis moon program
The space industry is changing fast - SpaceX already saves money by giving NASA cheaper rides to space with its Dragon capsule. But some folks might not like changes to older programs that keep 28‚000 people working across the country. Bill Nelson (current NASA chief) seems ok with it though; he thinks the good relationship between Trump and Musk will help keep NASAʼs money flowing
