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He has never worked at NASA. It does not have Background scientist, or university studies. None of that matters. He has flown twice to the space in missions he financed. He is a bold and billionaire entrepreneur; The values that conquered Donald Trumppossibly under Elon Musk’s advice. Now Jared Isaacman It is one step away from being confirmed as the youngest administrator that NASA has ever had.
The priority is to get to Mars. At his audience to the United States Senate, which will confirm his choice as NASA’s head, Isaacman has not diverted from the slogan of Trump, who appointed the conquest of Mars as the “manifest destination” of the United States In his inaugural speech.
“As the president declared, we will prioritize the sending of American astronauts to Mars,” said the businessman before the Senatorial Committee for Commerce, Science and Transportation. In the public there were also the four crew of the future Artemis II mission to the moon.
But Elon Musk is separated. The richest man in the world surprised NASA at the beginning of the year saying that “the moon was a distraction”, and that Spacex would focus on the conquest of Mars. Taking into account that Spacex is a key contractor in NASA’s return to the satellite, the industry took it as a sign that the Artemis missions They could cancel, leaving in the hands of China the opportunity to send to the first woman To the moon.
During his audience, Isaacman was inquired in multiple occasions about the flights manned to the moon. Senator Tammy Duckworth asked him if he agreed to maintain the Lunar Objectives of NASA in the long term. “I think it is imperative that we do both,” Isaacman said. “I think we can get to the moon, Mars and beyond.”
Ted Cruz was more direct: he asked if he promised to bring American astronauts to the moon surface before Trump ceased to be president. Isaacman defended the idea of the springboard: “I want us to return to the moon while we also move towards Mars.” Cruz reformulated the question: “If China advances us in the conquest of the Moon, what consequences could the United States face?” “Certainly, we can’t lose,” Isaacman said. “The space is the maximum advantage; we cannot afford to give it up.”
Another point where Isaacman separated from Musk was in his idea of destroy the International Space Station Before time. “Are you in favor of maintaining a sustained presence in the low land orbit?” They asked him. “Yes, reuse is a sustainable way to send US astronauts to orbit, I would like to understand the reasons that Elon Musk has to exorbit the international space station before 2030,” he said.
It does not maintain contact with Musk. The fear of losing symbolic battles against China, such as sending the first woman to the moon or maintaining the presence in the low land orbit was a constant throughout the audience. But the most tense moments occurred when Isaacman had to answer questions about his relationship with Elon Musk. After all, there is a direct relationship between the nominee to direct NASA and Spacex, a company with which it was associated for the missions Inspiration4 and Polaris.
Isaacman denied having been in contact with Elon Musk to talk about NASA, and noted that the businessman does not owe loyalty but to the United States. But when Senator Ed Markey insistently asked if Elon Musk was at the meeting that Isaacman had with Trump for his nomination, Isaacman was not honest. He always replied with the same phrase: “Senator, my meeting was with the president of the United States.” He did not deny or confirm that Musk was in the room (implying that, obviously, he was).
There is money to do everything. It does not seem that Isaacman will complain about the cuts that Doge Government Efficiency Department Directed by Elon Musk, it is applying to NASA. The young entrepreneur believes that there is enough money to quickly get to the moon while advancing in the plans to conquer Mars as soon as possible.
The speed is the key in Isaacman’s plans, which wants to revitalize the “Mission First” culture of the Apollo program: Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon just eight years after Alan Shepard became The first American to fly to spacethe name recalled to direct NASA. Instead, it does not seem that he is very excited about the idea of launching the Lunar Gateway station or building a lunar base, as China looks for. He did not expressly said it, but commented that “we will have to determine the scientific, economic and national security benefits to maintain a presence on the lunar surface.”
As for the SLS and the Orion ship. Boeing can breathe calm, at least for a few months. It seems that Isaacman is willing to respect the current architecture of Artemis missions, however expensive and inefficient it isat least for the moment, while an alternative architecture develops.
“It’s the current plan. I think it’s the best and faster way to achieve it,” said Isaacman. But then he added that this architecture is not the way to follow for high frequency flights to the moon, a clear nod to the New Space launch options: The Spacex Starship and the ship Blue Moon from Blue Originwhich will be launched aboard the new Glenn rocket.
Images | POT
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