US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated billionaire entrepreneur and private spaceflight pioneer Jared Isaacman to head NASA, marking a bold shift for the agency. The announcement, made on Wednesday, follows Isaacman’s high-profile ventures into space exploration, including funding and participating in SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, which achieved the first commercial spacewalk.
Isaacman is poised to succeed former Florida Senator Bill Nelson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021. With Isaacman at the helm, the Trump administration appears set on advancing America’s leadership in space exploration and technology.
Isaacman gained prominence in the space industry as the driving force behind two groundbreaking SpaceX missions. In 2021, he funded and commanded the Inspiration4 mission, which sent an all-civilian crew to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Earlier this year, he took part in the Polaris Dawn mission alongside SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, performing the first-ever commercial spacewalk.
Outside of space exploration, Isaacman is best known as the founder and CEO of Shift4, a payment-processing company he launched at just 16 years old. His leadership has expanded Shift4 into a global player, recently acquiring the Canadian gift card platform Givex and partnering with Elon Musk’s Starlink on a payments deal in 2021.
Expressing his excitement for the role, Isaacman took to X (formerly Twitter) to outline his vision for the agency: “With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place. Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars, and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.”
Isaacman’s nomination comes amid Trump’s push for unconventional leadership across federal agencies. Other appointees include Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who are heading the newly created “Department of Government Efficiency.”
Isaacman’s nomination signals a continued emphasis on commercial partnerships and private-sector innovation in U.S. space policy. With his track record of funding ambitious space missions and a commitment to American space supremacy, the 40-year-old billionaire is expected to accelerate initiatives like lunar and Martian exploration while strengthening NASA’s collaboration with commercial space companies.