US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday selected Jared Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut and business partner of Elon Musk, to head NASA. Isaacman, the CEO of Shift4 Payments, has flown to space twice on SpaceX missions as part of his Polaris program. Isaacman collaborated closely with Musk in these fully private missions, investing hundreds of millions of dollars and becoming a prominent customer of SpaceX's emerging private astronaut venture.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).”

ALSO READ: French Government Falls After Opposition Lawmakers Bring No-Confidence Motion, First Time Since 1962

"Jared will drive NASA's mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” he said. 

Following Trump’s announcement, Isaacman said, "There will inevitably be a thriving space economy -- one that will create opportunities for countless people to live and work in space.” "At NASA, we will passionately pursue these possibilities,” he further said.

Who Is  Jared Isaacman?

Isaacman is the founder and CEO of Shift4, a leading global financial technology company. He also co-founded Draken International, a defence aerospace firm that provides support to the US Department of Defense and its allied nations.

Isaacman, a vocal supporter of Tesla chief Elon Musk, has frequently praised the company and its vision on X, a microblogging site, formerly known as Twitter. 

ALSO READ: BTS Jungkook's Mixed Response About His Military Enlistment Has ARMYs Laughing: 'No Or No...' | Watch

41-year-old Isaacman is expected to enhance the agency's strategy of relying on private companies for space access as a commercial service. This shift has created significant challenges for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, a large and over-budget launch vehicle developed by Boeing and Northrop Grumman. 

The SLS is a key component of NASA's Artemis program, alongside SpaceX's Starship, but the growing reliance on private sector alternatives threatens the SLS's future.

In September, Isaacman, along with three other crew members, became part of the first-ever private spacewalk in orbit. The historic mission featured the use of newly designed SpaceX spacesuits, marking a significant milestone that Isaacman helped finance.