Private astronaut Jared Isaacman returned to Congress on Wednesday for a second confirmation hearing to become NASA administrator before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in Washington, DC.
There appeared to be no showstoppers during the hearing, in which Isaacman reiterated his commitment to the space agency’s Artemis Program and defended his draft plan for NASA, “Project Athena,” which calls for an assessment of how NASA should adapt to meet the modern space age.
During his testimony, Isaacman expressed urgency as NASA faces a growing threat from China to its supremacy in spaceflight.
“After more than a half-century, America is set to launch NASA astronauts around the Moon in just a matter of months—a challenging endeavor to say the least—and one that requires full-time leadership,” Isaacman said. “We are in a great competition with a rival that has the will and means to challenge American exceptionalism across multiple domains, including in the high ground of space. This is not the time for delay, but for action, because if we fall behind—if we make a mistake—we may never catch up, and the consequences could shift the balance of power here on Earth.”
Second time around
Isaacman appeared before this Senate committee eight months ago, after his original nomination by President Trump to lead the space agency. That hearing went reasonably well, and he was days away from being confirmed by about two-thirds of the Senate when the president pulled his nomination for political reasons. But Isaacman’s time was not done, and throughout the summer and fall, his supporters pressed his case, leading to Trump’s re-nomination in early November.
For much of September and October, there was a political struggle between Isaacman’s supporters and those who backed the interim NASA administrator, Sean Duffy, to lead the space agency full-time. As part of this tussle, Duffy’s team leaked copies of Isaacman’s draft plan, Project Athena, to reform NASA. Duffy’s team sought to cherry-pick elements of the plan to cast Isaacman as an agent of chaos, intent on canceling NASA field centers and killing useful programs.
When asked about this on Wednesday by several senators, Isaacman replied that single sentences in the 62-page document were taken out of context. In reality, Isaacman said, the plan was a “living document” in which he was charting his own thoughts and ideas based on conversations with various people in and around the space community. He said he stood behind its contents.
“It was always something that was meant to be refined with actual data, should I have been confirmed,” Isaacman said. “But I do stand behind everything in the document, even though it was written seven months ago. I think it was all directionally correct, consistent with prior testimony and my interactions with various senators.”
Stronger political footing
As Ars reported a month ago, the Athena plan lays out a blueprint for Isaacman’s tenure at NASA, seeking to return the space agency to “achieving the near impossible,” focusing on leading the world in human space exploration, igniting the space economy, and becoming a force multiplier for science. Isaacman also sought to leverage the entire commercial space industry to further stretch public money to maintain an advantage over competitors in space.
There is no firm timeline for when Isaacman’s candidacy will go forward. However, he was given an accelerated deadline to respond to written questions from senators (December 7), which suggests a committee vote could take place next week, followed quickly by a floor vote. There seems to be a desire among senators to confirm Isaacman before the winter recess.
Because his nomination was pulled in late May, Isaacman has lost about half a year of leadership at NASA. This is unquestionably lost time, but from speaking with people around him, it seems clear that Isaacman feels he has come out of this process politically much stronger than he was this past summer.
Isaacman has developed a good working relationship with Trump and key decision-makers in the White House. He now has a much greater ability to call on them to further the president’s agenda in space, which should give him a stronger hand in making the changes at the space agency he deems necessary.
PlayStation is making an MLB The Show mobile game