“I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, a distinguished business leader, philanthropist, pilot and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),” Trump wrote
The president-elect of the United States, , announced, this Wednesday (4), that he chose billionaire Jared Isaacman, the first civilian to carry out a spacewalk, as head of . “I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, a distinguished business leader, philanthropist, pilot and astronaut, as administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in science, technology and space exploration,” he added. The choice could create a conflict of interest due to the relationship between the head of the financial company Shift4 and Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and president of SpaceX, who will be part of Donald Trump’s administration when the Republican takes office on September 20. January.
Jared Isaacman, 41, has become one of the leading figures in commercial spaceflight thanks to his work at SpaceX. A native of Pennsylvania, Isaacman founded the company that became Shift4 Payments in the basement of his family’s home when he was 16 years old. The billionaire is able to fly military planes, has participated in air shows and set a round-the-world world record. “Inevitably, there will be a thriving space economy, which will create opportunities for countless people to live and work in space,” Isaacman said on social media site X following Trump’s announcement.
“At NASA, we will passionately pursue these possibilities,” he added. In September, Jared Isaacman performed the first private spacewalk in history as part of the Polaris program, a collaboration between NASA’s new executive director and SpaceX that will include three missions in total.
The financial terms of the partnership are confidential, but it is believed that Jared Isaacman invested 200 million dollars (R$ 1.2 billion at current prices) of his personal fortune to command SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission in 2021, the first trip with just civilians into space. Isaacman is also an ardent supporter of and, appointed by Trump to co-chair a commission on government efficiency.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
