It took the Trump administration almost a year to decide on a non-interim NASA administrator.
In 2024, before he was sworn in, President Donald Trump announced that billionaire tech founder and space tourist Jared Isaacman would take over the helm of the space agency — only to change his mind after months of bureaucratic chaos, budget cuts and a major falling out with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
However, a year later, Trump once again thrust the spotlight back on Isaacman, who was finally confirmed by the Senate in a 67-30 vote on December 17, promising to get an agency in crisis back on track.
And he is clearly willing to try to use some unusual advantages.
As NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens noted in X, Isaacman has offered to fly members of the NASA workforce in his "private F-5 aircraft."
“All costs associated with these flights are covered by the Administrator, at no burden to the taxpayer,” Stevens promised.
"If you are an outstanding NASA employee who does extraordinary work, you will have the opportunity to soar into the sky with NASA administration."
Separately, Isaacman — whose net worth is estimated to be well in excess of $1 billion — also announced that he would donate his annual salary of $221,900 to Space Camp.
This is a much more meaningful offering that could actually make a more tangible difference to “inspire the next generation to get interested in STEM fields and contribute to the greatest adventure in human history,” according to Stevens.
Earlier this week, he accompanied the president's son, Eric Trump, and his wife for a ride aboard two fighter jets over NASA's Kennedy Space Center. /Telegraph/
