Jared Isaacman, billionaire tech entrepreneur and founder of Shift4 Payments, announced that his private astronaut missions under the Polaris program might be paused as he transitions into government service as NASA administrator. Isaacman, tapped last week by President-elect Donald Trump for the role, addressed the uncertainty during the Spacepower 2024 conference in Orlando, stating, “The future of the Polaris program is a little bit of a question mark right now. It may be on hold for a bit.”
Isaacman owns the Polaris program, a series of private spaceflights conducted with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. He has flown to space twice, including the groundbreaking Polaris Dawn mission in September, where he and his crew performed the first private spacewalks. Two additional Polaris missions were planned, including one on SpaceX’s Starship rocket. However, Isaacman’s new role has raised questions about the program’s continuity.
As NASA administrator, Isaacman is expected to bolster private-sector innovation and support SpaceX’s Mars-focused ambitions. He praised advancements like reusable rockets and asteroid mining but offered no specifics on his vision for NASA, a $25 billion agency committed to lunar exploration and beyond.
Isaacman’s close partnership with SpaceX has provided critical support for Musk’s private astronaut business. His investment in missions and the development of SpaceX’s spacesuit marked significant milestones in commercial spaceflight. While SpaceX regularly flies NASA astronauts to the ISS using its Crew Dragon spacecraft, the Polaris program represented a key revenue source and collaboration for the company’s nascent private space ventures.
Meanwhile, Boeing’s Starliner, also part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, faces ongoing technical hurdles. Its next crew return mission is slated for February, using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
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