Latest news with #WernherVonBraunAward
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
No longer in the running to head NASA, Jared Isaacman turns focus to private space missions
Jared Isaacman may no longer have a shot at leading NASA, but that doesn't mean the billionaire and private astronaut is done with space. In one of his first public appearances since President Donald Trump withdrew his nomination for him to be NASA administrator, Isaacman indicated he still has an interest in facilitating private spaceflight missions. The billionaire, who has been to space twice in two previous missions jointly funded with SpaceX, also hasn't ruled out making another cosmic venture now that he'll have more free time on his hands. Isaacman's recent comments came June 21 after he received the National Space Society's Wernher von Braun Award for Polaris Dawn, the private astronaut mission he commanded in September 2024, reported. After a prepared speech, Isaacman also spoke of what his priorities would have been had he been confirmed as NASA administrator. Here's what Isaacman recently discussed, as well as what to know about the billionaire spaceflight enthusiast. In comments after a speech at the National Space Society's conference, Isaacman reportedly indicated his interest in exploring space outside of the agency, according to SpaceNews. Isaacman's comments come at a difficult time for NASA − the agency faces steep budget cuts that can put several exploration missions at risk. Isaacman said in June that as NASA administrator, he would have sought partnerships with academic institutions that would have given such organizations a bigger role in funding. Rather than focusing on human spaceflights missions, Isaacman suggested he's more interested now in bankrolling uncrewed robotic missions. Isaacman's Polaris Dawn mission was intended to be the first of three missions he planned to fund under the Polaris Program. While he set those missions aside when he was nominated to lead NASA, it's unclear just when, or if, he'll pick them back up. But in previous comments on social media, Isaacmen left the door open to going to space again. "I have not flown my last mission," Isaacman said in a post May 31 on social media site X after Trump pulled his nomination to head NASA. "Whatever form that may ultimately take – but I remain incredibly optimistic that humanity's greatest spacefaring days lie ahead." Isaacman, founder of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, 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. Netflix filmed a documentary about the Inspiration4 mission. By that time, space tourists had already begun taking short trips to the edge of space with companies like Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos' 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. Isaacman's nomination to lead NASA was well-received by most of the space community and members of Congress. But at a critical time when the U.S. space agency is preparing to return humans to the moon and send the first astronauts to Mars, Trump suddenly pulled Isaacman's bid in late May. The decision came after Isaacman had cleared the Senate Commerce Committee in April and appeared on track for a full Senate vote. Though Trump never offered a concrete reason for the about-face, Isaacman faced some pushback in the Senate for his close ties to Musk at a time when the SpaceX founder was on his way out of the White House. Other reports have suggested Isaacman's past donations to Democrats may have influenced Trumps decision, who said in a statement that "the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump's America First agenda." Trump, who said on Truth Social that he will propose a new nominee, first announced Isaacman's nomination in a December 2024 post, saying, 'Jared will drive NASA's mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in space science, technology, and exploration.' NASA has now lacked a full-time administrator since Bill Nelson stepped down on Jan. 20, the day of Trump's inauguration. Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Brooke Edwards, FLORIDA TODAY Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: After Trump pulls Isaacman NASA bid, billionaire eyes next space mission
Gizmodo
23-06-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Trump Snubbed Jared Isaacman as NASA Chief, but the Private Astronaut Isn't Done With Space Yet
Although Jared Isaacman is out of the running for the position of NASA administrator, the space enthusiast is still very much interested in staying in the game. In a recent appearance, Isaacman revealed he would still like to pursue launching robotic missions to space. This weekend, Isaacman received the National Space Society's Wernher von Braun Award for the privately funded Polaris Dawn mission that he led in September 2024. After his speech, Isaacman spoke of plans he would have executed as NASA administrator, as well as some that the private astronaut is still interested in pursuing outside of the agency, SpaceNews reported. This comes less than a month after President Donald Trump withdrew his nomination of Isaacman to lead NASA in a surprising switch-up that left members of the space community disappointed. In comments to the press, Isaacman mentioned that one of the goals he had for NASA was to partner with academic organizations on science missions. 'My priorities would have been leadership in space and the orbital economy and trying to introduce a concept where NASA could help enable others to conduct interesting scientific missions, getting academic organizations to contribute,' he said. 'I wouldn't mind maybe trying to put that to a test and see if you could fund an interesting robotic mission, just to show that it can be done, and try and get some of the top tier academic institutions who want to perform,' Isaacman added. 'So that's on my mind.' Isaacman previously funded the private missions he was a part of. In 2021, he purchased all four seats on board SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft for the Inspiration4 mission. Under the Polaris Dawn program, Isaacman contracted with SpaceX to fund a series of missions, the first of which launched on September 10, 2024 and pulled off the first commercial spacewalk in history. Rather than focusing on human-led private missions, Isaacman is now looking to launch space exploration missions out of pocket. This comes at a time when NASA is facing severe budget cuts that threaten several science missions and put the agency's ability to pursue space exploration at risk. The current administration's so-called skinny budget proposes a $6 billion cut to the agency, 24% less than NASA's current $24.8 billion budget for 2025. As part of the proposal, the agency's astrophysics budget will drop to less than half a billion dollars from $1.5 billion. Its planetary science budget would drop from $2.7 billion to $1.9 billion, while its Earth science budget would fall to just over $1 billion from about $2.2 billion. NASA's Mars Sample Return, a bold quest to bring bits of Mars to Earth, is on the chopping block as part of the 2026 proposed budget. Other missions, such as NASA's Juno that has been exploring Jupiter since 2016, face cancellation, while planned future missions, such as DAVINCI and VERITAS, may never launch. Isaacman's nomination to lead NASA was a welcomed move by the space community as the agency struggles with pressure to return humans to the Moon and land astronauts on Mars. If he were given the helm, Isaacman would have focused on reusable hardware to launch the Artemis missions to the Moon while ditching NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a giant, expendable rocket that has gone $6 billion over-budget, he revealed in a podcast earlier this month.
