Jared Isaacman could be confirmed as NASA's next head. How the astronaut became a billionaire

Yahoo

30-04-2025

NASA could be one step closer to having its next leader if congressional leaders vote to advance the nomination of billionaire Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut who has financed and led two commercial expeditions to outer space.
If confirmed, Isaacman, 42, would oversee a space agency undergoing potential critical cuts while on the cusp of pivotal crewed missions in the years ahead to the moon and Mars.
The Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled Wednesday, April 30, to vote whether to send the New Jersey native's confirmation to the full Senate.
Here are six things to know about Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump's pick to head NASA.
On the eve of Isaacman's confirmation hearing, news came to light that he once faced some legal trouble when he failed to pay casino debts.
Isaacman was arrested on fraud charges in 2010 and faced lawsuits in two states for writing $2 million in bad checks to casinos, Reuters reported, citing government records and court filings.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in a February 2010 press release titled, "Nevada Fugitive Captured at Canadian Border," that agents arrested Isaacman on a warrant for alleged fraud at the Washington state line. Isaacman, who was 27 at the time, was released from jail the next day, which he has since said in a questionnaire in connection with his nomination to head NASA was because the matter was resolved and the charges dismissed.
Isaacman was also sued four times between 2008 and 2010 in connection with casino debts and allegations of fraudulent checks. One case in 2009 was settled in 2011, while a complaint in 2010 was eventually resolved and withdrawn, Reuters reported.
Information on the other two cases from 2008 was not immediately available, according to Reuters.
Isaacman faced plenty of questions about NASA's priorities under his potential leadership during an April 9 hearing with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Since Trump took office in January, uncertainty has abounded about the U.S. space agency's future – including its years-long plan of sending astronauts back to the moon. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, a close confidante and supporter of Trump, has made no secret of his desire to focus on transporting humans straight from Earth to Mars without stopping at the moon, as envisioned under NASA's plan.
Because Isaacman is a close associate of Musk's, both Democratic and Republican senators questioned the prospective nominee about whether he shares that vision.
Isaacman told the committee he will 'prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars.'
But that doesn't mean he would abandon plans for lunar exploration.
"Along the way, we will inevitably have the capabilities to return to the moon and determine the scientific, economic, and national security benefits of maintaining a presence on the lunar surface," Isaacman wrote in his written testimony prior to the hearing.
Trump announced Isaacman's nomination in a December 2024 post on Truth Social, saying, 'Jared will drive NASA's mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration.'
If confirmed, Isaacman would succeed Bill Nelson, former President Joe Biden's pick for NASA administrator and a former astronaut and Democratic U.S. senator from Florida.
In a December post on social media site X following Trump's announcement, Isaacman said he was 'honored.'
'Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history,' Isaacman said in the post. 'I can confidently say this second space age has only just begun ... There will inevitably be a thriving space economy – one that will create opportunities for countless people to live and work in space.'
Isaacman famously dropped out of school at 16 years old to start his internet payment processing company Shift4 Payments in 1999, which is how he amassed his fortune.
The Pennsylvania-based company, publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, specializes in commerce technology such as mobile payment software and hardware. More than 25 years after its founding, the company boasts on its website that it processes more than $260 billion annually for more than 200,000 customers around the world.
Isaacman has been to space twice under his private spaceflight venture known as the Polaris Program.
The most recent expedition drew plenty of headlines in September 2024 when Isaacman flew with an all-civilian crew of amateur spacefarers on a mission he jointly funded with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
During the mission, known as Polaris Dawn, the four-member crew ascended to 870 miles above Earth's surface – higher than any crewed vehicle has traveled since NASA's Apollo era ended in the 1970s. Two days into the mission, they became the first non-government astronauts to complete a spacewalk when both Isaacman and crew member Sarah Gillis exited the Dragon capsule separately for about 10 minutes each to take in the endless black expanse of outer space.
Isaacman's first trip to space came when he commanded the first all-civilian space crew in 2021 aboard a SpaceX capsule as part of a mission known as Inspiration4.
By that time, space tourists had already begun taking short trips to the edge of space with companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. But Inspiration4 became known as the world's first all-civilian extended mission to space, with Isaacman, who funded the spaceflight, and three others spending three days living in orbit and conducting research.
With more than 7,000 flight hours of aviation experience, Isaacman is also an aviation enthusiast qualified to fly military fighter jets.
The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. ET and will stream live on the Senate committee website.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Who is Jared Isaacman? Billionaire astronaut could lead NASA