In the latest episode of Miles To Go, I sat down with Jared Isaacman, a self-made billionaire, accomplished pilot, and pioneering space explorer. Our conversation, recorded in September 2023, reveals the remarkable trajectory of a high school dropout who built Shift4 Payments into a multi-billion-dollar company while nurturing a deep passion for aviation and space.
Isaacman’s story is one of boundless ambition. He began flying in his early 20s and soon took his passion to new heights, co-founding Draken International, which provides adversary training to the US military. But his foray into space has made him more widely known. In 2021, he led the historic Inspiration4 mission, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight, which raised over $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A year later, he commanded the Polaris Dawn mission, which achieved a record-breaking orbit, conducted the first commercial spacewalk, and tested cutting-edge technologies for future space exploration.
Our conversation touches on Isaacman’s early inspirations—movies like Top Gun and The Right Stuff—and the pivotal moments that shaped his path. He shares how his aviation experiences influenced his leadership style and how he brought the same discipline to his groundbreaking space missions. As the nominee for NASA Administrator, announced on December 4, 2024, Isaacman stands at the cusp of a generational shift at NASA, promising to bridge the gap between the agency’s storied past and an ambitious, commercially driven future.
The podcast delves into what lies ahead for NASA, the challenges Isaacman may face in navigating a bureaucracy with over 18,000 employees and a $25 billion budget, and his vision for the agency’s direction. What will happen to the Space Launch System, Artemis, and the Boeing Starliner - all star-crossed programs? Will NASA pivot from the Moon to Mars? Will commercial partnerships like SpaceX's play a more significant role in shaping its future? We can guess an answer Given Elon Musk's close relationship with Trump and Isaacman. But who knows? Many members of Congress representing ruby red districts see NASA as a jobs program not to be meddled with.
Isaacman’s journey is a testament to the power of dreaming big, embracing risk, and redefining what’s possible. Tune in to this episode for a glimpse into the mind of a man poised to lead NASA into a new era/
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