Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator: Does he have The Right Stuff?

President-elect Trump shared on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he plans to nominate private astronaut and businessman Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator. While Isaacman has had massive success in the private market and building his own space program, does he have the “Right Stuff” to lead the world’s premier space agency?

“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in space science, technology, and exploration,” President-elect Trump said in his Truth post Wednesday morning. But does Jared have all the necessary skills to run NASA? Is he too close with SpaceX to be an unbiased decision-maker when it comes to the space industry at large? Or is this just the person we need to get NASA out of the rut it has been in with some of its biggest programs.

Isaacman’s experience with commercial space

NASA has shifted heavily towards using its commercial partners more and more in the last decade. It began with the success of the Commercial Resupply Services program and then with SpaceX‘s grand success with Commercial Crew. Now, NASA is putting similar fixed-price, indefinite delivery contracts everywhere it can: Human Landing System, Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services, and even the Commercial LEO Destination program.

If there is anyone who is qualified to work within the knowledge of commercial space, it’s Isaacman. Commanding the first-ever fully commercial mission to space, Inspiration4, and then setting up the Polaris Program, essentially a private space program, Isaacman might know a thing or two about the inner workings of private industry.

Jared Isaacman with his family after the Polaris Dawn mission. Image: Polaris Program

Heavy bias towards SpaceX is a concern

Since flying on Inspiration4, Isaacman has embedded himself in the support of SpaceX and its mission for making humanity multi-planetary. In fact, the Polaris Program is basically a means to help support SpaceX in learning the needed skills to achieve that mission, including flying the first crewed Starship mission.

As NASA Administrator, Isaacman will have to show that he will continue NASA’s goal of being a non-biased facilitator of public-private partnerships.

Political baptism by fire

While NASA uses private industry heavily, it is not a private company itself. Learning the ropes of Washington politics can be a long and difficult task for those even elected to office. While Isaacman likely has some exposure to the politics of the Department of Defense industry with Draken International, a defense contractor he started back in 2012, it will pale in comparison to what it will take to get a budget through Congress.

There is a good reason why in recent decades, it has been a popular decision to nominate a politician to the post of NASA Administrator. However, just maybe, this is what NASA needs in the current market.

Less than two months away

Isaacman will still have to wait for Trump to take office on January 20th before he’ll be able to prove himself capable of the role. It is likely he’ll also have to pass the rigors of a Senate confirmation hearing before that, unless the chamber agrees to take a recess to allow then-President Trump to appoint all his senior officials without needing an immediate confirmation.

The current outlook of NASA under Administrator Bill Nelson is that Artemis will eventually work and get us back to the Moon, commercial partnerships will make it cheaper and more sustainable, and then we’ll look at Mars.

Isaacman shared after Trump’s announcement he intends to focus on building the stepping stones for humanity to walk on Mars, returning America to the Moon, and building an in-space economy. With Isaacman’s much newer approach to space exploration, I would expect this is the administration that sees a total flip in NASA’s programs, something we haven’t seen since President Obama took office.