President Donald J. Trump’s appointment of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA was a wonderful moment for those of us who believe in space.
I began reading about space in 1957. I was in eighth grade when “Missiles and Rockets” was a lively magazine and exciting things were happening.
Four years later, like most Americans, I was thrilled by President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to go to the Moon, and I still remember the night we first landed there on July 20, 1969.
Then everything seemed to slow down. We pulled back from long-distance projects and focused on the near-Earth International Space Station and space shuttle programs.
In my second term in Congress, I tried to jump-start a more dynamic, risk-taking and aggressive venture into space. On July 28, 1981, I introduced HR 4286 to establish a national space and aeronautics policy.
The 15-page bill had a comprehensive plan for a more dynamic American pursuit of space. In a manner that anticipated Elon Musk a generation later, sections 401 to 403 cited the founding fathers and especially the Northwest Ordnance of 1787. I proposed extending constitutional protections to everyone living in American facilities in space. Further, I proposed that when a space community reached 20,000 inhabitants, Congress would authorize it to establish self-government. When colonies reached the same population as the smallest U.S. state, their citizens could apply for statehood.
This seeming fantasy began to become possible when Musk invented the reusable rocket at SpaceX. This innovation lowered the cost of putting a satellite in space by 90%. Musk is now creating the Starship. Its 39 Raptor engines make it the most powerful spaceship ever built.
With Starship’s ability to lift 100 passengers or 150 tons into orbit, the entire world of space activities will be revolutionized.
Multiple Starships could launch every day. Then the revolution will accelerate dramatically.
Other entrepreneurial companies are also developing a series of capabilities in different aspects of space. Axion Space is developing the first commercial international space station. Blue Origins is developing a broad space tourism capability.
In this dynamic environment led by successful entrepreneurs, the nomination of Isaacman is a perfect step toward a more entrepreneurial, dynamic and useful government space program.
As the leader of NASA, Isaacman will change the slow, cautious, bureaucratic culture that has grown up since Apollo into a dynamic, risk-taking, entrepreneurial system. NASA will accelerate rather than hinder the growth of a whole new generation of diverse American space activities. These include occupying the Moon and colonizing Mars — as well as developing space tourism and manufacturing in weightless environments.
Author Walter Isaacson wrote about Isaacman in his biography of Musk. The author explained that Isaacman had dropped out of high school to ultimately start what became a $200 billion-per-year payment system company. He then became a pilot and set the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet. He became so skilled, he started a company that trained military pilots.
“Instead, for SpaceX’s first civilian flight, he chose a low-key tech entrepreneur and jet pilot named Jared Isaacman, who displayed the quiet humility of a square-jawed adventurer who had proven himself in so many fields that he didn’t need to be brash. … Isaacman bought from SpaceX the right to command a three-day flight named inspiration4 that would become history’s first private orbital mission. His purpose was to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, and he invited a 29-year-old bone cancer survivor, Hayley Arceneaux, to join the crew, along with two other civilians.”
Isaacman wanted to go to a higher orbit than the International Space Station. Even after he was told that higher orbits held dangerous space debris that could destroy his spacecraft, he said he accepted the risk.
As Isaacson wrote:
“Later, when I asked why he had not opted for the lower altitude, Isaacman said, ‘If we’re going to go to the moon again, and we’re going to go to Mars, we’ve got to get a little outside our comfort zone.’”
Isaacman was so thrilled that he offered $500 million for three future flights, which would aim at going to an even higher orbit and doing a spacewalk in a new suit designed by SpaceX. He also asked for the right to be the first private customer when it was ready.
The Isaacman-Musk team fits perfectly into the visionary path Trump outlined in his first term.
On Dec. 11, 2017, Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, which called on the federal space program to cooperate with the private sector to return humans to the moon and explore Mars and other areas in our solar system.
As the president said at the time, “The directive I am signing today will refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery. It marks a first step in returning American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, for long-term exploration and use. This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints — we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond.”
Trump, Musk and Isaacman are three visionary pioneers who will collectively make America the leader of the golden age of space.
Newt Gingrich is former speaker of the U.S. House.
