Jared Isaacman, Trump’s NASA choose, foresees ‘period of nice experimentation’

ORLANDO, Florida — The world is entering an “era of great experimentation” in space, as reusable launch systems and other game-changing leaps in technology open a window for the kind of rapid advances not seen in decades — and it’s crucial that the U.S., not China, is the first to build a presence on the moon, reach Mars, and travel deeper into the cosmos.

Those were the central messages from Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur and trailblazing commercial astronaut tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be next administrator of NASA. In his first major public speech since being nominated for the post last week, Mr. Isaacman addressed a hotel ballroom full of U.S. Space Force personnel and commercial space industry leaders at the Spacepower 2024 conference here. The event was organized and sponsored by the Space Force Association.

Mr. Isaacman steered away from the bitter partisan rhetoric that has gripped virtually every other aspect of the shift to a new administration in Washington.

But he left no doubt that he views private companies — including SpaceX, the firm led by billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk — as playing a central role in American space exploration moving forward. 

That interplay between NASA and other arms of the government and the deep-pocketed companies now able to plan, finance and carry out their own launches and space missions is set to be a defining characteristic of the U.S. space program in the decades to come.

The stakes, Mr. Isaacman said, couldn’t be higher, predicting the U.S. space program was “about to enter the era of great experimentation.”

“Right now, reusability is going to open up this domain in such a new way that we have no idea what the future may hold. But I know we can’t be second in that,” Mr. Isaacman said. “Whether it’s been developments in biotechnology, 3D printing organs or manufacturing, or, who knows what we might find that could … shift the entire balance of power here on Earth — if you do potentially crack the code on fusion power generation, perhaps.”

“For all these reasons, not to mention just our own natural curiosity to get out there, national prestige, we are going to inevitably have a presence on the moon and then on Mars, and we’re just going to keep making the high ground higher,” he said. ” … And it’s imperative that we are first in that regard.”

In political, national security and space industry circles, there is a general sense of excitement swirling around Mr. Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an outspoken proponent of U.S. space exploration, wrote in a recent piece for The Washington Times that Mr. Isaacman is poised to “transform” the space agency and free it from the “bureaucratic culture” that has hindered it since the agency’s golden Apollo era ended in the 1970s.

Mr. Isaacman offered few clues how he might lead NASA if he’s confirmed. But his unique background — coupled with his obvious love of and fascination with outer space — have paved the way for him to be a leader unlike any the agency has seen in some time.

Most recently, Mr. Isaacman made headlines with the Polaris Dawn mission. Along with three other astronauts, Mr. Isaacman last September left Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for a five-day mission. That mission reached a reported altitude of about 870 miles, the highest altitude reached by a human since the Apollo days.

The Polaris Dawn mission also made history as the first commercial spacewalk. Even the spacesuits worn by Mr. Isaacman and his fellow astronauts were designed and funded by Mr. Musk’s SpaceX.

Such missions look to be a key piece of the future of American space exploration. In fact, Mr. Isaacman sketched out a near future in which wealthy Silicon Valley financiers fund more ambitious endeavors, perhaps including the mining of metals, minerals or other resources in space.

“Is mining potentially on the table?” he said. “I have no doubt that private industry, with your [private equity] funding or [venture capitalists], is going to get the dollars and cents to go out and experiment on that, and it will be affordable enough to do it, because there will be several launch providers you can talk to and be able to attempt it. So again, I think it just comes back to the space economy as a whole.”

A billionaire who founded the popular payment provider Shift4, Mr. Isaacman also offered advice to companies looking to make their mark and cash in on lucrative opportunities in space.

“If there’s a real problem, and you know that if you solve that problem, there’s going to be demand for it … just lean in and do it,” he said.

“And I know, look, it’s very hard sometimes. … I run a public company too, and I get it. You’re deploying financial resources. You need to have reasonably high confidence in a return. But I hate the idea of waiting around and not touching the keyboard until you get a contract — just doesn’t seem like the right way to do it.”