Jared Isaacman Is Now Head of NASA
Jared Isaacman has been officially sworn in as the 15th administrator of NASA. Full disclosure, I have been a strong proponent and supporter of Isaacman since I watched the Inspiration4 documentary, listened to his perspective about American dominance in space, and plans for the agency. His nomination has been fraught with controversy, and it’s arguably wasted time getting him to this point. Nevertheless, he’s IN.
Jared Taylor Isaacman was born February 11th 1983, making him the youngest head of NASA ever. At 16 years old he dropped out of high school, obtained his GED, and started a credit-card payment processing company, later to be named Shift4 Payments. The success of his business allowed him to pursue other interests, such obtaining a private pilot’s license and co-founding the world's largest private airforce, Draken International. He’s an accomplished pilot, with over 7000 flight hours, and is flight certified in multiple military jet aircraft.
Things really took off for Isaacman in 2021, when he struck a deal with SpaceX to command the world’s first all civilian orbital mission. Dubbed “Inspiration4” the aim of the flight was to raise $250 million for St Jude’s hospital. Launching on September 15th, 2021 Jared and his crew, riding aboard Crew Dragon atop of the venerable Falcon 9 rocket, made history. Lasting 3 days the mission was a resounding success, and put Isaacman in the public spotlight.
Fast forward one more orbital mission and a new President, Jared was nominated to be the head of NASA, mostly because of his ties to Elon Musk, who had the president’s ear. But also because he has some excellent ideas for what NASA could become (or get back to doing). Spelled out in his policy blueprint “Project Athena” Isaacman has championed a ‘mission first’ approach to bring NASA back to its former glory of “achieving the near impossible” by focusing on three core goals: leading the world in human space exploration, igniting the space economy, and becoming a multiplier for science. Unfortunately his first nomination was pulled after Musk and the President had an impressively public falling out.
It was after this that Isaacman’s humility and poise shone brightest. He didn’t blame the administration, or Musk, but continued to be humble and thankful for the opportunity. Many in the spaceflight community were disappointed, and disheartened. NASA continued on with the goal of launching Artemis II in 2026 under a temporary Administrator, Sean Duffy, who was also gunning for the permanent role. It seemed NASA was going to continue with the status quo.
But then on November 4th, 2025 Jared Isaacman was renominated for the position. New life was breathed into the community! His second hearing went quickly, and he was sworn in on December 18th. As an accomplished businessman, pilot, and commercial astronaut Isaacman has a unique set of skills that will lend itself to revitalizing NASAs mission, breathing new life into an aging agency that seems too risk averse. Space is difficult, but doing the impossible is fun, and I feel that Jared is up for the job.
Congratulations Mr. Isaacman, we’re rooting for you.
“I am deeply honored to be sworn in as NASA administrator NASA’s mission is as imperative and urgent as ever — to push the boundaries of human exploration, ignite the orbital economy, drive scientific discovery, and innovate for the benefit of all of humanity. I look forward to serving under President Trump’s leadership and restoring a mission-first culture at NASA — focused on achieving ambitious goals, to return American astronauts to the Moon, establish an enduring presence on the lunar surface, and laying the groundwork to deliver on President Trump’s vision of planting the Stars and Stripes on Mars.” - Jared Isaacman
Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
