--- title: "Trump’s New Billionaire Head of NASA Says He May Pause His Own Personal Vacations Into Space While Leading Agency" description: "SpaceX space tourist Jared Isaacman may soon have to go on a hiatus from his trips into orbit now that he's been named NASA administrator." date: "2024-12-14" modified: "2024-12-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/jared-isaacman-head-nasa-pause-space-travel" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "axiom space" - "donald trump" - "jared isaacman" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Trump’s New Billionaire Head of NASA Says He May Pause His Own Personal Vacations Into Space While Leading Agency ![SpaceX space tourist Jared Isaacman may soon have to go on a hiatus from his trips into orbit now that he's been named NASA administrator.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Stuck in the Office Billionaire Jared Isaacman has been to space twice. First, he commanded the [first all-civilian mission]() to orbit in September 2021 on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. Almost exactly three years later, he again rode the craft to orbit to become the [first private astronaut]() to go on a spacewalk. But the playboy space tourist may soon have to go on a hiatus from his privately-funded trips into orbit — because Isaacman [was picked by president-elect Donald Trump](), or perhaps his buddy Elon Musk, to become the next head of NASA. The announcement catapulted the trained fighter jet pilot into the upper echelons of Washington, DC — which could force him to put his personal space travel ambitions on hold. As part of the private Polaris program organized by Isaacman, the entrepreneur wanted to follow up his September spacewalk with two more trips on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon and eventually the company's much larger Starship. "The future of the Polaris program is a little bit of a question mark at the moment," Isaacman told the audience of a space conference in Orlando, as [quoted by *Reuters*](). "It may wind up on hold for a little bit." ## Spacefaring Kinda Guy It's the first time Isaacman has made a public appearance since being appointed NASA administrator. As *Reuters* points out, the billionaire appeared highly optimistic about the future of the private space industry at the event but offered few clues on how we would lead NASA starting in January. The 41-year-old is widely expected to further existing private-public partnerships, which could turn out to be a major windfall for SpaceX, which is already a major NASA contractor. "At NASA, we will passionately pursue these possibilities and usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization," Isaacman wrote in an [announcement on X]() last week. Where his new role will leave the Polaris program and SpaceX's other private astronaut partnerships with the likes of [Axiom]() and [Vast]() remains unclear. In short, while it may not be him personally riding a spacecraft into space, given his new role in the Trump administration, SpaceX's space exploration ambitions almost certainly just got a major boost. **More on Isaacman:** *[The New Head of NASA Had an Interesting Disagreement with the Space Agency]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()