Here's some words on the inspired choice of Jared Isaacman to be the next administrator of NASA. arstechnica.com/space/2024/1... - ThreadSky

sciguyspace.bsky.social • 97 days ago

Here's some words on the inspired choice of Jared Isaacman to be the next administrator of NASA.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/how-did-the-ceo-of-an-online-payments-firm-become-the-nominee-to-lead-nasa/

Comments

dsm721.bsky.social•83 days ago

"Inspired", can we get the "government sponsored media" tag on here?

geocolumbus.bsky.social•95 days ago

He's on the SpaceX payroll, essentially. NASA will need to stop offering contracts to SpaceX due to conflict of interest.

ragingspirit.bsky.social•97 days ago

I expect this guy to try to kill off SLS, Orion and the second lunar lander for the sole purpose of handing most of NASA's budget to SpaceX, while dismantling the agency's already weak oversight. I hope i'm wrong, because the worst case outcome would be dead astronauts.

truegradient.bsky.social•97 days ago

From the article, it looks more like Orion is safe (-ish). There is a clear conflict of interest, and it's healthy to have people concerned like you: raise the bar so they have to work harder to prove you wrong (and I'm sure you would like to be proven wrong on this).

arunop.bsky.social•97 days ago

I like that he is passionate - We need to get used to Musk's self-dealing I guess.

rocketplane.bsky.social•80 days ago

Manned Mars Landing
Presentation to the Space Task Group
By:
Dr. Wernher von Braun
August 4, 1969 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20240011937/downloads/1969-08%20MSFC%20von%20Braun%20-%20Manned%20Mars%20Landing.pdf

rocketplane.bsky.social•84 days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgjVhlzY0n8

rocketplane.bsky.social•87 days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uFO6BjWSs

rocketplane.bsky.social•88 days ago

@mentges.bsky.social @antidr.bsky.social @lyndalovon.bsky.social @jackiewattles.bsky.social @lorengrush.bsky.social @marinakoren.bsky.social @maxtwang.bsky.social @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social @jfoust.bsky.social https://sethabramson.substack.com/p/the-truth-about-musk-from-his-biographer

rocketplane.bsky.social•89 days ago

Isaacman is already starting with the useless and pointless proposals. https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-nasa-head-troops-space

rocketplane.bsky.social•90 days ago

Isaacman doesn't understand a government is not a company, or how the government works. "Defend the spend" is the job of congress not the executive branch. Executive branch doesn't have the legal authority.

genejm1017.bsky.social•83 days ago

He does know that NASA is not an arm of the Defense Department, right?

rocketplane.bsky.social•83 days ago

Legit question. He certainly doesn't understand who makes up the personnel in Space Force or what the branch actually does.

genejm1017.bsky.social•83 days ago

That applies to a good part of the US citizenry, sadly. I'd really love to be on the panel during the confirmation hearing, but they don't want someone who actually cares enough to ask tough questions. Hopefully someone will have the fortitude to do that although I have sincere doubts anyone will.

indig0bunting.bsky.social•83 days ago

Start by releasing SpaceX contracts to the public .

rocketplane.bsky.social•93 days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Fy0z1KFZc

rocketplane.bsky.social•93 days ago

So You Want to Build a Low-Cost Launch Vehicle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Fy0z1KFZc

rocketplane.bsky.social•94 days ago

Stuhlinger calculated that his 1955 nuclear electric ion rocket mars ship design could get to mars and back with no refueling on 365 tons of cesium.

rocketplane.bsky.social•97 days ago

@buccaneerboosters.bsky.social @maxtwang.bsky.social @maxtwang.bsky.social @dsfpspacefl1ght.bsky.social @lyndalovon.bsky.social @lorengrush.bsky.social @marinakoren.bsky.social YOU'RE A JOURNALIST, BERGER. PRESUMABLY. WE JUST WANT THE FACTS. WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR OPINION.

lyndalovon.bsky.social•97 days ago

Honey, all he cares about is rockets and space travel not science or earth science or climate science or anything having to do with science or the Earth. And he’s part of the musk cult. I don’t even know what he’s doing on blue sky.

rocketplane.bsky.social•91 days ago

Yeah, I don't know what a Muskrat like Berger is doing on Bluesky either.

jmichaelsturm.bsky.social•97 days ago

Isaacman is a great candidate, but I am concerned about losing NASA’s most talented scientists and engineers to commercial partners. I hope he retains NASA’s brain trust as a national resource instead of solely relying on outsourcing to companies which may or may not prioritize national interests.

rocketplane.bsky.social•97 days ago

He has the weakest academic background of anyone ever nominated to the position. Has no background in public service. And seriously thinks Starship is getting us to mars.

jmichaelsturm.bsky.social•97 days ago

TBH I don’t know much about his background, but I enjoyed his interview on Main Engine Cutoff podcast. If he doesn’t value robotic missions for planetary science, then I will be much less enthusiastic. Starship seems promising for cargo to Mars, but I am more skeptical about crewed missions.

rocketplane.bsky.social•97 days ago

You should be.

dgb3269.bsky.social•97 days ago

good article, helpful and hopeful of change. huge sisuphean task.

mmarengo.bsky.social•91 days ago

A separate question is what he might do with NASA science, a small part of the overall NASA budget but perhaps the most successful. At some point proposed to fund a new HST refurbishing mission. That suggests that his heart may be on the side of supporting science/astronomy. Your take on this?

truegradient.bsky.social•97 days ago

I'm cautiously optimistic about Rook in this role, despite the evident conflict of interest. He could unleash a lot of potential both in NASA and in commercial space.
From the article, you sound now more like 60-40% in SLS cancellation, rather than the earlier 50-50? With the Huntsville proposal?

vtvl.bsky.social•97 days ago

Eric updated his probability to 75-25 in favor of cancellation on the other social media platform.

truegradient.bsky.social•97 days ago

Thanks! I hadn't seen that.
I just checked the other side. From his comments, he sounds more like 90% by now.

snow-tonic.bsky.social•97 days ago

Outwardly, he portrays good intentions. He talks the talk and has walked the walk.

But a healthy dose of cynicism is warranted. He's a financial benefactor of SpaceX and has close ties to Musk. Can he truly be trusted to be an independent thinker? Or will NASA become a funnel to SpaceX interests?

samclayton.net•97 days ago

SpaceX has done amazing things. Whilst Musk is on the leftie hit list at the moment, some of that is our failure to embrace his achievements in developing sustainable transportation. This was avoidable, but here we are. Its not as simple as saying Musk = Bad.

rocketplane.bsky.social•83 days ago

ALL of the critical technologies in Falcon 9 were invented by someone else. Aluminum-lithium alloy fabrication and welding techniques? NASA. Grid fins? The Soviets. Pintle injectors? TRW. Correcting for inflation Apollo was $260 billion. Gemini and the Surveyor landers were another $20 billion.

samclayton.net•83 days ago

So he was just accidentally involved?

rocketplane.bsky.social•83 days ago

Tom Mueller did the engineering.

rocketplane.bsky.social•84 days ago

Musk is a moronic conman who sells a fake future to gullible space cadets. This is what a mission to mars designed by actual geniuses looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgjVhlzY0n8

samclayton.net•84 days ago

As I said before, he's more complicated than that. Need to avoid the fallacy that everything is black or white.

rocketplane.bsky.social•84 days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgjVhlzY0n8

rocketplane.bsky.social•84 days ago

He's not that complicated. This idiot doesn't even understand the fundamentals of nuclear electric and nuclear thermal propulsion. Those are the propulsion technologies that EVERYONE ELSE since the FIFTIES has been looking at for crewed mars missions.

snow-tonic.bsky.social•97 days ago

Musk is on the "leftie hit list" for a variety of transgressions far more important than space exploration, frankly.

But Musk is not the relevant part of my comment. My concern is whether a single company will have undue influence and use that power for their own gain.

samclayton.net•97 days ago

I imagine much less than Boeing and Lockeed currently do, so this should be a decent change

snow-tonic.bsky.social•97 days ago

The fact that Boeing/Lockheed have had that much influence without even having one of their own at the helm of NASA, the DoD, or the executive, suggests to me that this would get *worse*, not better, once you put individuals directly tied to SpaceX in key government positions. That is unprecedented.

rocketplane.bsky.social•83 days ago

You people need to ask yourselves why Lockheed and Boeing have "influence." It's often because they're the ONLY companies with the resources to bid on and deliver these large contracts.

zephyrusmagnus.bsky.social•97 days ago

Great article Eric. Not a huge fan of 47 but this is exciting news indeed.

budobasovic.bsky.social•96 days ago

"Inspired"? This is very much in line with the rest of Trumps appointees: absolutely no prior experience in any similar job, in many ways the opposite of what's required, and a close friend, associate or client of Trump or his entourage, in this case Musk.

aaronmw.bsky.social•97 days ago

It's dumb, but par for the course.

oneflyerguy1993.bsky.social•97 days ago

If Isaacman was smart, he would politely decline this nomination.

rocketplane.bsky.social•97 days ago

Isaacman has an ego that might get in the way.

mrkhagol.bsky.social•97 days ago

More like consideration-on confidence of his abilities- which will get the best of him

lamarlin.bsky.social•97 days ago

We really appreciate your space reporting Eric. I look for articles every day from you on Ars and immediately read those.

yunaiki.bsky.social•97 days ago

Great write up.

repetitiveuser.bsky.social•97 days ago

Trump is the damn worst, but I gotta say, he's the only president in decades that's had NASA heads that seem capable of moving the agency into the future.

vicklien.bsky.social•97 days ago

From the Atlantic article:
"The most delicate task before Isaacman might be to figure out exactly whom he answers to, especially if Trump and Musk have a falling out...
... his pick only confirms that Musk, rather than any government official, is now the big boss in space."

Wonderful. /s

vicklien.bsky.social•97 days ago

Rule by the oligarchs?
See also: "Elon Musk Gets His Mini-Me at NASA":
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/12/elon-musk-jared-isaacman-nasa/680884/

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