President Donald Trump gave no reason for his decision to pull Jared Isaacman’s nomination but said in a social media post that the next leader of the space agency needed to be “mission aligned” and put “America first in space”.
The news comes with Isaacman having previously hinted he was against proposed cuts to NASA’s budget, which the latest reports suggest could be as high as 25 per cent.
It will also be seen as a blow to the local space sector, with Isaacman a strong advocate of the Artemis moon missions that Australia is now deeply involved with.
“The administrator of NASA will help lead humanity into space and execute President Trump’s bold mission of planting the American flag on the planet Mars,” the White House said in a statement.
“It’s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda, and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon.”
President Trump said directly on social media that the decision was taken “after a thorough review of prior associations”, but didn’t elaborate on what that meant. While The New York Times later reported the “prior associations” were related to old donations to Democratic candidates, that information had seemingly been in the public domain for months.
Isaacman, meanwhile, issued a statement in response, insisting he was “incredibly grateful” to President Trump and the Senate.
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“The past six months have been enlightening and, honestly, a bit thrilling,” he said. “I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry.
“It may not always be obvious through the discourse and turbulence, but there are many competent, dedicated people who love this country and care deeply about the mission.
“That was on full display during my hearing, where leaders on both sides of the aisle made clear they’re willing to fight for the world’s most accomplished space agency.
“The President, NASA and the American people deserve the very best – an administrator ready to reorganise, rebuild and rally the best and brightest minds to deliver the world-changing headlines NASA was built to create.”
The move to seemingly oust Isaacman comes despite him being just a week away from being appointed to the top job.
He passed the last major hurdle of being confirmed by the US Senate commerce committee and was awaiting a final rubber stamp from the full Senate.
However, given there was no public Republican opposition and support of three Democrats, his progress was a formality.
Senator Ted Cruz, chairman of the commerce committee, said he supported the nomination on the basis that it would require NASA to establish a “sustained human presence” on the moon.
“Our path to predominance in space begins with the Artemis missions. Mr Isaacman acknowledges this,” Senator Cruz said.
“For Isaacman, NASA can pursue Martian objectives, yes, absolutely. But these should not detract from the near-term objective of returning to the moon first. Given this explicit commitment, I support Mr Isaacman’s confirmation.”
Isaacman’s backing for Artemis included supporting the use of Boeing’s Space Launch System rocket and Lockheed Martin’s Orion capsule to make the flights, despite criticism from SpaceX founder and Trump adviser Elon Musk.
Isaacman, however, also advocated for NASA to pursue both a mission to the moon and Mars simultaneously, even if the former would take precedence.
“Historically, NASA managed multiple complex programs simultaneously – Mercury, Gemini and Apollo – in an era with far less technological capability than we possess today,” Isaacman said previously.
“More than six decades later, with the advances in industry and innovation, I believe the world’s premier space agency should be capable of executing multiple major initiatives at a time.”
Space Connect reported in December how ELO2 beat AROSE to be picked to create Australia’s lunar rover.
The winning consortium, co-led by EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania, said work would begin “immediately” on creating the final design while the Australian Space Agency finalises launch details.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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