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New NASA Admin Jared Isaacman NASA Townhall · Elon Musk Podcast

0:00
Good afternoon to everyone and morning to those of you joining
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us from the West Coast. I'm Bethany Stevens, the agency
0:07
press Secretary and we're excited to have you join us this
0:10
morning for the newly sworn in administrator, Jared Isaacman's
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first agency wide town hall. With headlines like Space
0:18
Community Celebrates, Isaacman Confirmation, and day one videos
0:21
like that, I think it's safe to say we're all very excited he's
0:24
here. Before we begin, I want to take
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this opportunity to talk through the structure of what this time
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will look like. Today, communication went out
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internally across the agency announcing this town hall that
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also included a link to submit questions.
0:38
As always, we are hoping to get to as many questions as
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possible, but we do have some time constraints.
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I ask that when you submit, whether anonymous or with your
0:47
name, you include your center as we are aiming to get to as many
0:50
locations as possible across the workforce.
0:53
We also have a mic stand here at HQ and the web auditorium right
0:57
over there where today's Town hall is taking place.
1:00
If you have a question in the audience here live, please feel
1:03
free to go up to the microphone if it is open.
1:06
Otherwise, we ask that you wait in your seat rather than
1:08
queuing. Given that the majority of our
1:11
workforce sits outside of HQ, the majority of questions will
1:14
be taken online, but please don't let that discourage you
1:16
from participating here in house.
1:19
Lastly, I want to take thank everyone here at HQ for taking
1:22
time out of their day to welcome Administrator Isaacman yesterday
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and everyone across NASA for taking time the Friday before
1:28
Christmas to join us for this Town Hall today without further
1:32
delay, Administrator Jared Isaacman.
1:35
Good afternoon. I am really honored to be here
1:38
today as NASA's 15th administrator, serving under
1:41
President Trump's leadership and working alongside some of the
1:45
greatest scientific and engineering minds this nation
1:48
has to offer. I feel like I am living the
1:51
dream right now. This is the agency that
1:54
captivated me as a child, inspiring me to grow up reading
1:58
every book on the subject I could on all of NASA's amazing
2:01
accomplishments and all The Pioneers and heroes that showed
2:05
up to work here every day. This is the agency that has
2:08
inspired the world again and again with images from our
2:11
telescopes, our probes, and our Rovers.
2:13
This is the agency that sent astronauts to and from the moon
2:17
at a time when we knew so little but believed we could do the
2:20
impossible. So honestly, there's nowhere
2:23
else I would rather be than right here, right now, alongside
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all of you at the most accomplished space.
2:29
Agency in the world? I understand that with any
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leadership change comes some anxiety and uncertainty, but
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between two hearings, a few podcasts, a document that
2:40
circulated a little wider than expected, there should be, there
2:43
should really be no mysteries as to how I'm thinking about
2:45
things. But more importantly, the
2:49
President has released the National Space Policy, and in my
2:51
view, it's one of the most significant commitments to
2:53
America's space program by by any administration since the
2:57
Kennedy era. It lays out a very clear vision,
3:00
provides unambiguous priorities, and sets time frames for
3:04
achievement. And as it's always been, the
3:07
honour and exceptional responsibility rightfully falls
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on all of us here at NASA to deliver.
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So let me outline the direction that we're going to take
3:15
together. America will lead in the
3:18
peaceful exploration of space. We will bring extreme focus to
3:21
the mission and realise our near term objectives of returning
3:25
American astronauts to the Moon and establishing an enduring
3:27
presence to unlock the scientific, economic and
3:30
national security potential on the lunar surface.
3:33
We will look for every opportunity to pull forward the
3:36
Artemis program to the limits that physics and safety afford,
3:39
while increasing the flight cadence across the architecture
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authorised in the one big beautiful bill.
3:44
The next most significant milestone, of course, is Artemis
3:47
2 launching on a historic mission early this coming year.
3:52
At the same time, we will prepare for the inevitable
3:55
return by working with our commercial and our international
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partners to ensure they're aligned with our programmatic
4:01
objectives and acting with the urgency needed to deliver the
4:04
launch services, the vehicles, the suits, the habitat, surface
4:08
power and Rovers required for frequent, affordable missions to
4:12
the lunar environment. And our journey does not end on
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the Moon. As directed in the National
4:18
Space Policy, we will accelerate investments in next generation
4:21
programs that only NASA is capable of leading, including
4:24
nuclear, surface power and propulsion technologies that
4:27
will usher in the next giant leap in space exploration and
4:31
discovery. Now we must ignite the orbital
4:34
and eventual lunar economy. For more than 1/2 century, the
4:37
space economy has been terrestrially anchored in
4:40
launched communication and observation with world
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governments as the primary customer.
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That perpetual taxpayer dependent model won't fund the
4:49
future we've all imagined. Alongside industry and academia,
4:53
we must uncover the long-awaited promise of pharmaceuticals,
4:57
biotech on orbit, computing anything that can contribute to,
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and perhaps someday entirely justify the cost of maintaining
5:04
inhabited orbital outposts and generating value for in excess
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of what it cost to operate in space.
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Working with industry and academia, we will do all we can
5:13
to maximise the remaining life. The International Space Station
5:16
prioritising the highest potential science and research
5:19
with the aim of determining this new orbital economy.
5:22
So in the future we will transition from one station to
5:25
many. NASA will become a force
5:27
multiplier for science with an immense hunger for the data and
5:31
enthusiasm to deliver the world changing headlines that only
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NASA is capable of achieving. We will endeavour to reduce the
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time to science and maximise the scientific value of every dollar
5:42
that's available now. I do not believe this is a A1
5:46
size fits all approach. We will embrace a full menu of
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possibilities so that includes bespoke missions to
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extraordinary destinations and expanded clip style missions
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that accept more risk for faster discovery.
5:58
Partnering with industry to gather Earth observation data
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more efficiently and affordably without sacrificing continuity,
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and lending NASA expertise and resources to enable academic
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institutions to take on bold scientific missions.
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Some approaches may be a flavour of the way it has always been
6:15
done, and some will be a new way.
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But in all cases we will challenge the process in every
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way, with the goal of arriving at the desired results as
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expeditiously and affordably as possible.
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Because if NASA doesn't do it, no one else will.
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Now, accomplishing our mission will not be easy, but at NASA it
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never was and it never should be.
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Engineering and program management challenges are are
6:39
just part of the story. We have a great competitor that
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is moving at absolutely impressive speeds, and it's
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unsettling to consider the implications if we fail to
6:48
maintain our technological, scientific or economic edge in
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space and the clock is running. These are fiscally challenging
6:58
times, and I do support the President and his goal to get
7:01
spending under control and bring down the national debt.
7:04
Now, this is hardly NASA specific, but we as a nation
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can't spend our way out of every problem and believe it will lead
7:10
to better outcomes. So I don't know where the
7:12
budgets will land, but I will always advocate passionately for
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the agency, knowing we will make the most of every dollar
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entrusted to us. And I'm not arriving with all
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the answers. I do know this.
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We cannot achieve our objectives by doing things the way they've
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been done in recent years. And we know most of the NASAIG
7:28
reports would echo this sentiment.
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So we must do all we can to minimize the bureaucratic drag
7:34
that can slow us down and slow down the great engineers and
7:37
scientists and eliminate obstacles that impede progress.
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Flatten the organizational structure to improve information
7:43
flow and accelerate sound decision making, and push
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responsibility down to the talent that is more than capable
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of getting the job done. And when we do, we must, right?
7:52
If we recognize and reward the contributors that bring the near
7:55
impossible to reality. NASA must be one of the hardest,
8:00
most demanding places to work in this country because lives
8:03
depend on our work and the world is counting on our breakthroughs
8:06
and discoveries. It's why you see the NASA logo
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anywhere you travel. I mean, people the world over
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know that we are capable of accomplishing and the
8:14
expectations are rightfully very high.
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We're not alone in the need to evolve to meet the moment.
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Our international and commercial and commercial partners have
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made commitments as well, and we must place as much pressure on
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them to deliver as we do on ourselves.
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No changes happen in a vacuum. I I plan to speak with many of
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you, the leadership teams, the engineers, scientists,
8:34
astronauts, our program managers and the people in the field
8:37
doing the work. I will visit every centre in the
8:40
weeks ahead and engage with our international and and commercial
8:44
partners. I want to hear directly what is
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broken so we can work together to fix it and where we are
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excelling so we can do a lot more of it.
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It's been a year, but we have real momentum now.
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NASA has the enthusiastic interest of President Trump, the
9:01
vice president, the cabinet. We have bipartisan congressional
9:04
support. We have a national space policy
9:06
outlining the most righteous and inspiring objectives.
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We have the mandate. We have the talent, the
9:11
partners, and the resources to get the job done and bring
9:14
billions of people along with along with us on this journey.
9:18
I don't think there are many NASA employees standing next to
9:21
you who served during the Apollo era.
9:23
They have retired. In many cases.
9:25
They've passed on, leaving their extraordinary accomplishments
9:28
behind for us to celebrate. But now you will be the ones in
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the room when we return. You will be part of the next
9:36
chapter of this history. And this time, when we make the
9:39
grand return, we stay. Thank you.
9:54
OK. And with that, we will get right
9:55
back into the questions that are coming, but I know that one of
9:59
the questions that was submitted was asking what your plans are
10:01
for your first 60 days. So you take it from here.
10:06
What are my plans for the 1st 60 days?
10:08
Well, there is an awful lot to learn.
10:10
There are volumes of materials on my desk right now to to get
10:15
through. But I think our, our, our major
10:18
priorities are overwhelmingly clear.
10:20
And it's the first part of the nationals, the president's
10:23
national space policy. We have to return to the moon.
10:25
We have Artemis 2. That's on deck.
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I mean, again, just weeks away from potentially launching.
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So I think making sure we concentrate a lot of our
10:32
resources rightfully in that direction is is most
10:35
appropriate. But there's an awful lot to get
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done. And and this is the agency that
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can do it. I mean, this is an agency with a
10:40
lot of proud history taking on multiple parallel world changing
10:45
programs. So I think again, we know what
10:48
our near term responsibilities are, but I'm looking forward to
10:50
learning as much as I can, getting out, interacting with
10:53
all of you on that roadshow that I mentioned coming up and
10:56
getting things going. Awesome.
10:58
And Elizabeth Hook Rogers from NASA HQ, thank you for that
11:02
question. I will kick it to Samantha
11:04
Youssef from Glenn. She asked, Do you have any
11:07
insight into when the current hiring freeze may be lifted and
11:10
whether candidates who are already selected and given start
11:12
dates will need to recompete for their positions?
11:16
Well, it's a good question. I think somewhere around 28
11:20
hours or so, not even on the job.
11:22
So there are certain things that I still need to chase down.
11:25
But as I said many times through, through 2 hearings, in
11:27
order to do the near impossible, it's going to take the
11:30
contributions of the best and brightest from across the
11:32
nation. I, I have no doubt there are
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areas within the agency where we're going to have to hire.
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So I look forward to getting more familiar with where we
11:41
stand on some of these policies. Great Fernando de la Pena Yaka
11:46
from Johnson said NASA FOD presented at MCCA
11:50
state-of-the-art holographic AI tech from IEXA.
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Will NASA incorporate AI and holography in the future?
11:58
Definitely butchered that word. Well, that I mean, certainly
12:01
sounds like the right direction. I mean, almost every good space
12:04
sci-fi movie I've seen incorporated both AI and
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holographs. So that's good.
12:10
I, and I mean in all seriousness, we, we absolutely
12:12
have to. So I am not familiar with where
12:16
we are at at this present moment.
12:17
I am familiar with the pages and pages of policies, regulation,
12:23
documentary documentation, history this agency possesses.
12:26
And it would certainly seem to make sense to me.
12:28
That is a good first step. We could try and incorporate
12:30
some of that and AI might make it easier to find some of the
12:33
materials we need. But look, if we think about
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where are, where the destinations will eventually
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take us, we're going to, I mean, we're going to eventually,
12:41
whether it's Mars and beyond, just transmission delays alone
12:43
are going to take us, you know, or at least evolve the current,
12:47
you know, Mission Control concept where we're going to
12:49
have to rely on more on board decision making where I could
12:52
see AI playing a role, what AI mean.
12:55
Fun thing to imagine at some point in the near future.
12:59
And also just a reminder, we do have a mic in the room if
13:02
anybody wants to get up and ask a question.
13:05
Betty Lynn Mason from Marshall asks, do you see new technology
13:09
development more by hands on engineering work here at NASA or
13:13
through NASA consulting with industry and why?
13:16
I think it's both and I'm, I'm sure many of you, well, I don't
13:20
know, you probably have a lot of better things to do than hear
13:22
what I'm saying to Congress all the time.
13:24
But I, I mean, this question comes up a lot of like it, it's
13:28
almost goes to the, the relevancy of the agency.
13:31
Like why, why do we need a NASA? And we have all these great
13:34
commercial companies, you know, doing all these things.
13:36
It's like, wait a second, you know, let's go back to the 1960s
13:39
here during the space race where we did the near impossible.
13:41
We worked alongside industry. I mean, we had partners.
13:45
You have Boeing and McDonnell Douglas and Northrop back in the
13:48
1960s. And those names are still US
13:50
today. And certainly there are some new
13:52
names out there. I do think it's NASA's job to to
13:55
focus on on the near impossible. And we figure those things out.
13:58
We can hand them off to some of our industry partners where we
14:01
can let you know, innovation take off and the competitive
14:05
forces drive down costs. And we just recalibrate next.
14:07
So look, it's going to be both the national space policy,
14:10
something was spoken about extensively talks a lot about
14:13
investments in nuclear programs, nuclear surface power, nuclear
14:16
propulsion. Now, there is an emerging
14:18
industry that's capable of supporting that, but I think a
14:21
lot of that is what NASA should be taking on.
14:24
And then there's certainly areas where we pioneered technology
14:26
decades ago where we're very comfortable working alongside
14:29
our commercial partners to get the job done.
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I don't see that balance ever changing.
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And especially, especially on the science side, back to, you
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know, my commentary before if NASA isn't out there trying to
14:40
unlock the secrets of the universe, no one else is going
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to do it. Rita, Sam Bruna from Goddard
14:46
said. Welcome Administrator Isaacman.
14:48
I was gratified to hear you say that one of the goals of your
14:50
administration is to make NASA a force multiplier for science.
14:54
I'm wondering what the word science really means.
14:57
Is it only the science that serves directly Moon to Mars,
15:00
space weather, robotics, propulsion science, surface
15:04
exploration, and more? Or more generally all science we
15:08
currently do at the agency, even if not directly linked to Moon
15:11
to Mars? For example, is traditional
15:13
astrophysics studying the universe included of?
15:16
Course, I mean I, I mean I think like fundamentally, what are
15:21
what are we here to do? We're here to answer the
15:23
questions that, you know, went through every kids mind when
15:26
they looked up at the the stars at night and wondered what's out
15:29
there and why it's the way it is.
15:31
I mean, so that we play that role across all of our mission
15:34
directorates. So of course, human space
15:36
exploration is a major component to that, but as is our entire
15:41
science program and our technology development
15:44
initiatives, I mean, we're focused in all the right places
15:48
to try and solve the mysteries in Air and Space.
15:53
Jin Jung Wang Lee from Johnson says if China can air fry BBQ
15:57
chicken on Tiangong, should we reevaluate rigid and somewhat
16:01
outdated NASA requirements and use modern tech to turn survival
16:04
into thriving to attract commercial investment?
16:08
This was an air fryer I'd called Pizza in Space.
16:14
That's cool. That's an upgrade on that.
16:18
Yeah. I, I look, I as I meant, as I
16:20
alluded to in some of my remarks before I, I think it's
16:22
absolutely healthy for any organization to constantly
16:25
challenge the way they do things knowing that the what we've done
16:28
in the past is not necessarily the right approach to get to the
16:31
future. I mean we, we are on the brink
16:34
of a a massive transformation right now.
16:36
You can see all the various commercial providers building
16:39
their own launch vehicles with rapid reusability.
16:42
And we, this can be a light switch type moment where you
16:45
have numerous commercial and NASA missions being operated
16:50
near simultaneously. We could have multiple space
16:53
stations. We are certainly going to build
16:54
a lunar base in line with the president's direction and look
16:57
even further out outward. Like we're going to have to
17:00
challenge some of these things that might have been rigid in
17:03
the past during, you know, less mature times.
17:07
So I, I know air fryers is just the example, but I imagine there
17:12
are many things that we have historically maybe not
17:14
prioritized or thought were of a greater risk that we should be
17:19
re evaluating. I think that goes across the
17:21
entire portfolio of our responsibilities at NASA.
17:24
And I will hand the mic over for the question here in house.
17:26
Thank you. Kelly fast acting planet.
17:30
Excuse me, Kelly fast acting planetary defense officer.
17:33
And I was one of those astronomer kids looking at the
17:35
skies, but also being an astronomer also here, having to
17:39
use infrastructure that perhaps is aging.
17:42
It's not as flashy to work on budget software and procurement
17:48
software and awards management software.
17:52
And I know that often we have to throw people at such situations
17:56
because it's certainly flashier to do the next cool thing.
18:00
But do you have any thoughts on how we can maybe handle things
18:03
that are under the surface on which we rely in order to do the
18:07
impossible? Possible that we're trying to do
18:09
here. Well, I mean from an
18:15
infrastructure perspective and I guess including the, you know, a
18:18
lot of the core systems that allow the agency to function.
18:21
I do think we we should be applying a lot of the brain
18:24
power that is available to us at this agency to try and find ways
18:27
to do it better, to free up resources to work on those
18:31
exciting things. I mean, I hope everyone kind of
18:34
almost regardless of their function, is trying to find a
18:36
way to do whatever their current job is better, whether there's
18:41
means to automate it or software to alleviate some of their
18:43
responsibilities so they can repurpose their time on the more
18:46
exciting things to work on. But yeah, I, I have to imagine
18:50
that if there's any agency in the in the United States
18:52
government that can find a way to do some of those
18:54
responsibilities a little bit better to free up resources, we
18:57
should be capable of doing it. Thank you, I love your area of
19:02
responsibility too. I think that's one we should be
19:05
keep a good eye on. We don't want to go the way the
19:06
dinosaurs. Lisa Link from Goddard says, can
19:12
you speak to the reorganization discussed in the Project Athena
19:15
document and what impacts we can expect?
19:18
Sure. I mean it look at that as I
19:20
think a lot of people probably know was formulated a time
19:23
earlier this year where I mean, I was a nominee.
19:26
So I can only, you know, see what's being reported.
19:30
But there was a lot of various reorganization plans that seemed
19:33
to be being considered at the time.
19:36
A lot of phase one, phase two. I don't know how much everyone
19:39
was tracking that. But from my perspective, having,
19:43
you know, worked on a number of large organization reorg type
19:47
efforts, it's better to do a single data informed plan rather
19:50
than anything that involves, you know, needless pain over a
19:55
period of time. Now that's 5-6 months ago.
19:58
A lot has happened since then. As I mentioned before in my
20:01
remarks, my objective, I mean, is to get up to speed as quickly
20:05
as possible. Now, there are some things that
20:08
I did just, you know, more or less communicate in my
20:10
statement, like I do believe in flat organization structures.
20:12
I like to know things as quickly as we possibly can, increase
20:16
the, you know, decision velocity the greatest extent possible,
20:19
push responsibilities down. I think you.
20:22
And you look at that, I mean, we, we had a lot of young
20:24
engineers and scientists and researchers that took us to the
20:27
moon and back. I like pushing responsibilities
20:29
down as great as possible that these don't necessarily involve,
20:32
you know, major changes to personnel or, or dramatic
20:35
reorganizations, but they're direction, you know, directions
20:38
I think we should be looking to move into.
20:40
And at the right time, we have the right information, drawing
20:42
on hopefully a lot of conversations from people in
20:45
this room. You asked earlier about the 1st
20:48
60 days, but Mark Serna from Kennedy Space Center says what
20:52
organizational or investment decisions will you prioritize in
20:55
the next 12 to 18 months to ensure Artemis stays on
20:58
schedule? Yeah, well, I think there's,
21:03
there's already quite a few bonders up there with some high
21:05
priority decisions I think that need to be made.
21:08
But this is what I'm, this is really this journey began today.
21:11
I mean, we've had a number of meetings.
21:13
We're asking to gather as much data as possible.
21:16
So we have situational good situational awareness, awareness
21:20
to make the right decisions. I mean, you know, conceptually
21:23
we should be doing everything we can, as I mentioned, to the
21:26
limits of physics and safety of Ford to pull in every Artemis
21:30
mission. I mean, we want to have as many
21:32
opportunities to achieve our objectives before our great
21:34
rival as possible. So I'll be interested in
21:37
information that helps us beyond the Artemis 2 time frame.
21:41
And as I also said in my remarks, look, I think we should
21:44
be feeling a lot of the pressure to deliver.
21:46
This is what this agency is, is capable of doing.
21:49
It's what we've done throughout, throughout our history.
21:52
The pressure also exists on our international partners, our
21:54
commercial partners as well to ensure they deliver.
21:57
And I'm we'll be for sure having conversations across the board.
22:02
Reminder that the microphone in the room is open?
22:06
Felicia Stevens from Marshall asks, with NASA's organizational
22:10
structure being divided by 10 centers, do you have any
22:14
reorganizational plans for how to fully integrate the agency as
22:17
one NASA to help us operate more efficiently?
22:23
I would say I certainly have some thoughts, but those are,
22:26
those are, you know, those are thoughts that you would get
22:29
based on information external to the agency.
22:33
I think my goal is to use, you know, is to get up to speed as
22:35
quickly as I can and talk to a lot of the right folks that are
22:39
in this room and across our various centers to ensure that
22:42
we have a well informed plan. You know, generally speaking, I
22:46
do think every, you know, you want to make sure that all of
22:49
the contributors, so whether that's the centers and our our
22:52
various partners bubble up to the major mission objectives
22:55
that we're trying to accomplish. Like you, we want to find every
22:58
opportunity, you know, to ensure information transfers
23:02
efficiently so we can make faster decisions.
23:05
But yes, everything is just, you know, purely conceptual at this
23:09
point. Like my job for, you know, the
23:12
the foreseeable future, immediate future is to gather as
23:15
much information as I can with from the right people to make
23:17
sure we're making the right decisions.
23:21
Craig Hunter from Langley asks the loss of telework and remote
23:25
work flexibility have hurt productivity, work and family
23:30
life balance and morale. How do you plan to address those
23:32
issues? I, I, I certainly understand the
23:38
question. I would just say that at least
23:40
my experience is that when you're trying to do, you know,
23:45
kind of big, bold, very challenging endeavors, having
23:48
all the right minds in the right location is just works better.
23:53
Now, that doesn't mean that there aren't scenarios where
23:56
exceptions make sense. As I've said before, it does
23:59
take, you know, the contributions of the best and
24:02
brightest from across the nation in order to achieve the, the
24:05
near impossible. But generally, I, I do think
24:07
it's pretty important to bring all the, all the right people
24:10
together under the same roof in order to work with the, you
24:14
know, the speed, the urgency that's necessary for what we're
24:17
trying to accomplish. Roger Weiss from Johnson says
24:21
huge congratulations on your confirmation.
24:24
Might you become the 1st in office Administrator in Oh my
24:27
goodness Administrator to venture on a space mission.
24:37
That that is not crossed my mind.
24:39
I think we have an awful lot that needs to be accomplished,
24:43
you know, over the next three years.
24:46
The priority list is near endless.
24:48
The president has placed enormous importance on it.
24:52
I mean, my first day on the job and you're in the Oval Office,
24:55
the president signs a national space policy.
24:57
I mean, I think that signifies the, you know, it certainly
25:01
reinforces the importance this administration is putting on
25:04
achieving these objectives as quickly as we possibly can.
25:07
I hardly imagine I'll find time for, you know, any of these
25:12
other activities. So thank you.
25:18
Tara Halt from Headquarters says many projects are significantly
25:22
delayed due to poor contractor performance.
25:24
The OIG has noted that NASA has limited leverage to incentivize
25:28
improved contractor performance. How do you plan to address this?
25:34
I, I'm, I again, maybe it's just being hours on the job, but I am
25:38
not aware of any limitations in ensuring that there would be or,
25:42
or roadblocks in place to prevent us from holding our
25:45
partners accountable. So look, I, I said this in my
25:50
first hearing like they work for us, not the other way around.
25:53
I think that's how it was done in the 1960s.
25:56
NASA should be incredibly demanding to our various
25:59
partners and ensuring they can deliver the capabilities we were
26:02
promised on time, on budget, so we can deliver on our world
26:05
changing objectives. And I think there's certainly
26:08
things we can probably do here as an agency.
26:10
I'm, I'm very interested in what, you know, what knobs we
26:14
can turn, you know, in order to get to the, you know, to the
26:17
correct outcome faster. So we'll, we'll certainly look
26:19
within when there's opportunities to do so.
26:22
But as I said before, we're going to put as much pressure on
26:25
on our partners, international and commercial, as we do on
26:28
ourselves. Rich Walls from Langley says we
26:33
hear next to nothing about aeronautics.
26:35
What are your thoughts on the future of the first A in NASA?
26:39
I mean, this is an area that I'm incredibly passionate about.
26:45
So I mean, look, I love the history of the aeronautics
26:47
program at NASA. And I think it's, I think it's
26:51
important that we try and get back to that as quickly as we
26:54
can. And what I mean by that is lots
26:55
of exciting explains. Look, this is an environment for
26:59
us to learn, but it's also another tool for inspiration.
27:04
Rocket launches are great for inspiration.
27:06
Astronauts certainly landing on the moon is great for
27:09
inspiration. But NASA's portfolio in
27:13
aeronautics should be out there, too.
27:15
I mean, it's another opportunity to get people to look up and
27:18
imagine what's possible. I love aeronautics.
27:20
I'd love to see an expanded X-plane portfolio.
27:24
I'd love to see us collaborating in ways with other agencies as
27:28
we did in the past. I mean, you know, the, the, the
27:31
thrust vectoring technology on the F22 can trace it's roots
27:35
back to NASA fly by wire technology, wing designs.
27:38
I'd love to see us pushing the boundaries and radical airframe
27:41
designs and, and propulsion. So it's certainly an area that
27:45
I'm passionate about. Someone else has braved the mic
27:49
in the room, so I will toss it over to you.
27:50
Wonderful. Hello, Sir, I'm John Truss, NASA
27:54
Headquarters Mission Support Directorate.
27:56
I was wondering, I'm sure you're familiar with NASA's footprint
27:58
across the United States. I was wondering if you have any
28:01
general ideas of the infrastructure, what you want to
28:04
do? Any immediate plans for growing,
28:07
shrinking, or, you know, retiring buildings?
28:10
Yeah, I mean, it's a great question.
28:12
This is an area I, I'm eager to receive more information on.
28:17
I would like I, I think that the worst outcome right, is the
28:22
limited resources that we have available to us investing it in
28:27
infrastructure capabilities that don't have demand and come at
28:31
the expense of infrastructure that needs to be modernized,
28:34
maintained so we can increase throughput for it or
28:37
infrastructure we should be building to better account for
28:40
the future direction we're seeing in Air and Space.
28:42
So yeah, this is certainly something I want to get my arms
28:46
around. If we have infrastructure that
28:48
is not required anymore, it's not needed for us.
28:50
Like it would be a travesty to have money continue to go into
28:54
that when we we know there are so many exciting areas we need
28:57
to be prioritizing our resources.
28:58
So I'd love to make sure we're taking a good, you know,
29:01
holistic, you know, agency wide view of this and concentrating
29:05
our firepower on the on the real needle movers, which is
29:08
generally a statement I think for everything we're going to
29:10
try and accomplish at the agency with the resources afford to us
29:13
by Congress. Charles Wilder from Stennis says
29:19
how will you help streamline NASA's processes to enable
29:22
faster, cheaper missions without compromising safety or quality?
29:28
It's a good question. Look, I I think generally doing
29:31
things differently is not a there is no magic wand on this
29:34
kind of things like this is a lot of littles that happens over
29:37
time where you can, you know, shift directions.
29:41
But I will say, look, it's the the in terms of the safety card.
29:44
We, we have to, we have to, you know, separate out human Space
29:47
Flight missions where we will never take needless risk.
29:52
We will do everything we possibly can to protect the
29:55
lives of our, our crews from other missions.
29:58
You know, I love, you know, the flagship missions that we have
30:02
in the science portfolio. Like I, I just want to see more
30:05
of them as everybody does. Like, you know, it'd be great if
30:08
we were launching flagship missions with even a greater
30:11
cadence. And some of those, you know, I
30:12
mean, if definitionally you're going to spend a billion dollars
30:14
on them, you want them to work and get them right.
30:17
There are other categories that are already, you know, already
30:19
exist within the the science portfolio or maybe we can
30:22
challenge some of our approach on these things similar to clips
30:25
where, you know, we'll have some successes and we'll have some
30:28
failures and we should do it eyes wide open and accept that,
30:31
you know, over time, you know, that that curve should improve
30:34
and we should get better outcomes and we will have helped
30:37
industry or academia develop capabilities to launch
30:40
additional missions. That's how we become that force
30:42
multiplier. So can't be 1, you know, like
30:45
again, as I mentioned in my remarks and one-size-fits-all in
30:47
these things. And we have a question submitted
30:50
from out in California from Fidel Vasquez at JPL.
30:54
He says welcome. And how will JPL fit into NASA's
30:57
plans? I think JPL is, is one of our
31:00
great science centers. So from my perspective, I look
31:04
at it kind of similar to every other center within, you know,
31:09
within the agency on how can we increase the scientific value of
31:14
every dollar? How can we increase the output
31:16
or get to the desired objectives faster.
31:18
So JPL has built some extraordinary hardware.
31:20
I think pretty much, you know, I think pretty much every hardware
31:24
that we've landed on Mars, somebody I know will Fact Check
31:26
me on this probably originated from JPL.
31:29
I'm good. OK, my memory was correct on
31:32
that. So how do we get more of it?
31:34
I mean we, we, you know that that would be a question I would
31:36
ask out there is, is there any, any knobs again that we could be
31:39
turning to increase the output So we can you know, get after
31:42
the science that much faster. JPL is going to play a huge role
31:45
in that. Daniel Hoffbar from Langley says
31:50
what is the best way to provide suggestions to improve NASA
31:54
going forward? That's a great, that's a great
31:57
question. So something I was, I, I, I had
32:01
to look into this, but I recalled earlier in the year
32:04
that we had, you know, there was a inbox established for whether,
32:08
you know, anonymous suggestions or otherwise on areas for
32:10
improvement and not really sure what came of it.
32:15
And if it, if it no longer exists or it does, we're
32:18
definitely going to reinvigorate it or bring greater attention to
32:21
it. Because I would love to have
32:22
inputs from many on ways we could be doing things better,
32:26
you know, with the resources available.
32:28
But in addition, you know, plan to get out in the field.
32:32
And I, I can tell everybody now and can, you can consider a
32:34
direction on this, like when I do come and visit anyone, please
32:38
know, no, no red carpet or dog and pony show.
32:42
I am, I am there to, to learn about everything that's going
32:45
right. So we can increase it and do
32:47
more of it and where their problems are so we can try and
32:49
make it better. And that's not going to be those
32:51
interactions will not be limited to leadership levels.
32:56
I plan to have as many conversations.
32:57
I can't recognize. I mean, we do have thousands of
33:00
people, but I am very interested.
33:02
I'm not going to formulate my positions on things in a vacuum.
33:07
Angela Bartolomino from Goddard asks how will you address the
33:11
loss of personnel through the DRP?
33:14
I mean, as I, I've said, you know, many times, I think for us
33:17
to do what we're supposed to be doing, you know, which is
33:21
achieving the near impossible, it's going to take the best and
33:23
brightest from across the nation.
33:25
So I think it's, you know, a lot has happened this year.
33:29
So this is something I need to get my arms around and I'm
33:31
hoping to be able to do that through various leadership
33:34
discussions. But I could certainly see a
33:37
world where in order to achieve our our important objectives, we
33:40
do need to do some hiring. So that is something that I'll
33:44
need to get my arms run. Jeff Brubaker from Johnson asks,
33:49
do you have any examples to share with us of using
33:51
blockchain technologies to ensure integrity of safety
33:55
critical data like inspection reports?
34:00
Do I have any examples? Well, I mean, I I do think there
34:04
is a lot of utility in blockchain technology.
34:07
I don't know of any uses to date inside the agency or any
34:13
immediate problems we're gonna attempt to solve with it, but
34:15
I'm open minded. This is just a reminder that we
34:19
are grabbing these questions live and the link is open if you
34:22
would like to submit any questions.
34:25
Peter Zah from Johnson asks, What is your strategy to promote
34:28
space travel and space exploration interests across
34:32
America and partnering countries?
34:35
That's it. That's a great question.
34:37
So, and a lot of people have raised it in some form or
34:41
another, right? I mean, the space race was a
34:45
real thing in the 1960s and everybody followed it quite
34:48
closely. It was also at a time when, you
34:51
know, there were three TV networks and there was no
34:53
Netflix and such. So there's a lot or Instagram or
34:56
any of the other reels that capture people's attention, I
34:59
guess is there's a lot of things to occupy people's time.
35:02
And that's unfortunate because we're, we're about to do some,
35:05
some pretty impressive and cool things.
35:08
So it, it is an area that I, well, I fully intend to speak
35:12
with our, our comps team about to try and focus.
35:15
I mean, one area I've, you know, said it before is I'd love to
35:18
see us focus a lot on, on our quality of our content.
35:23
You know, not I do believe in the past, there's been a a lot
35:27
of quantity that's been shared, but we want to put out the
35:30
absolute best stuff that's going to captivate people's interest
35:33
and then almost back to, you know, what else do we need to
35:36
do? We this goes back to looking for
35:38
every opportunity to pull forward Artemis schedule into
35:42
the limits possible alongside all of our other missions is
35:45
that you want to get the the world's interest is going to be
35:48
there on Artemis 2. There's no question about it.
35:50
But you know, a lot of time can can transpire between Artemis 2
35:54
and Artemis 3. And that's like waiting a very
35:56
long time for the next season to come out right is we got to make
36:00
sure we're continuing to put that really engaging content out
36:03
there to maintain people's interest in what is something
36:06
extraordinary. It is I've said it many times,
36:08
this is greatest adventure in human history.
36:09
People should be following it very closely.
36:11
We'll do everything we can to make sure they do.
36:15
Jade Zeros from Kennedy says. And your time preparing for your
36:18
new role, Is there anything you've changed your mind about
36:21
pursuing as administrator? That is a great question.
36:26
I just I need to think about. It was a long time in between
36:30
the 1st and 2nd stint here and I tried to find as many
36:35
entertaining and distracting things to occupy my time in
36:37
between. Yeah, I, I am sure it is.
36:43
You know, it is an endless list really, right.
36:47
You know, you there is a lot that has transpired in the, you
36:52
know, over the last six months. But I'd say probably look, this
36:55
is it's not it's not necessarily what's changed for me, but what
36:59
has me so energized right now. Is this complete, you know,
37:04
administrative administration almost whole of government
37:08
support for what we're trying to accomplish here at NASA.
37:11
And you know, again, you know, I, the president releases a
37:16
national space policy on on on day one in the job.
37:19
I probably spoke with him at least four or five times about
37:22
space priorities prior to being renominated for the, the, the
37:26
job. I've spoken to him several times
37:28
since and the enthusiasm, the excitement from human Space
37:32
Flight to we were discussing robotic Mars missions like these
37:36
are things that are all very exciting.
37:37
But it doesn't stop there. The vice president, you know,
37:40
the leadership across the White House, obviously you've seen how
37:43
much Congress and got engaged across 2 hearings, both sides of
37:47
the aisle excited and fighting for the agency.
37:49
So from my perspective, sure, I'm, I'm sure a lot has evolved
37:52
in my thinking over that over that time period right now.
37:55
But what's I think most encouraging right now is how the
37:58
entire United States government is getting behind this agency
38:01
and what we're going to need to, what we're going to need to
38:03
accomplish in the years ahead. That's pretty, pretty exciting.
38:08
David Reed from Marshall says Administrator Isaacman welcome.
38:13
How do you see NASA working with other agencies such as Space
38:16
Command in IST and others to leverage shared capabilities to
38:21
develop the space infrastructure needed for ensuring we build the
38:25
future in space? It's, you know, that's a really
38:28
great, it's a great question. It comes back I think to what to
38:32
the National Space policy yesterday, which was clearly,
38:35
you know covered more than just NASA's responsibility in space
38:39
and where to come from an incredibly capable Office of
38:42
Science, Technology and Policy director Kratzios and the team
38:45
he's assembled over there, which many came from NASA are really
38:50
brilliant and they have the the top level picture of what we're
38:54
looking to do here at NASA. What DOE is working on what Dow
38:58
is working on so that we can be efficient with our resources.
39:01
Again, back to the realities are we, we are in a fiscally
39:04
constrained environment. So hey, let's, it's not build 4
39:07
different, you know, bespoke nuclear reactors across four
39:09
different programs. If there's some commonality
39:11
here, we can be smarter, more efficient and give by the way,
39:13
the programs a greater chance of success, you know, when we're
39:17
all aligned around it and sharing some resources towards
39:19
it. So I think that this is not
39:22
something that this is not broken, this is actually working
39:25
and we need to lean into it really well.
39:27
I think again, Director Kratzios and OSTP has a great vision
39:31
here. They're looking at the complete
39:33
picture across agencies that have some of this overlap so we
39:37
can be very smart and efficient with our resources.
39:40
Christian Maseal from Goddard asks if you could send a message
39:44
to every new mission team just starting their formulation phase
39:48
today. What is the primary North Star
39:51
or priority you would want us to emphasize to them right from day
39:54
one? It's another good question.
39:58
I think that we we certainly understand what our mission is
40:03
and we should be working urgently.
40:06
Towards solving it. Never let a day go by for
40:09
something that can be solved today because the world is
40:13
waiting. I mean, you're here at NASA.
40:15
We have the most extraordinary mission of any, any government
40:19
agency out there. And you know, we have the, the
40:23
direction from the president, we have the resources, we have the
40:26
will to accomplish it. Don't let a day go by for
40:29
something we can accomplish today, because the world is
40:31
waiting. Paul Goldsmith from JPL says how
40:36
do you see continuing support for science in NASA given the
40:39
pressure to deliver hardware? And I think that goes hand in
40:42
hand with two other questions we have from Goddard and Johnson
40:45
about the importance of Earth science and also how we are
40:49
going to continue to apply science on the International
40:51
Space Station. So a lot of science.
40:54
I think there's a lot there. I don't necessarily understand
40:56
the pressure to deliver hardware part, but I mean, just at least
40:59
talk on Earth sciences and and prioritizing science and
41:03
resources to space station. So, you know, with respect to
41:06
Earth sciences, look, there is there is bipartisan support for
41:09
it. Maybe for, you know, different
41:10
reasons, but every every senator I had a chance spoke to.
41:14
So we obviously have implications that are, you know,
41:17
real from a humanitarian perspective, agriculture, fires,
41:21
flooding. So everybody is interested in
41:24
the data maybe for slightly different reasons.
41:26
We just want to, again, like any aspect of the agency, look to
41:30
try and get to the science as quickly and as affordably as we
41:33
can. I think there's going to be
41:34
areas where you're going to have the historic Landsat mission
41:38
continuing to play its role. And then look, we should be
41:40
taking advantage of constellations of satellites
41:42
that are, that are up there now that are continuing to be
41:46
produced by a lot of different commercial providers to
41:49
supplement some of our data needs.
41:51
And if we can do that in a more affordable way and that frees
41:54
up, you know, more missions like future Dragonfly programs,
41:58
that's like who wouldn't want to lean in and embrace that The in
42:03
terms of high priority science and research to the space
42:06
station. This is maybe goes back to the
42:08
air fryer question of challenging some of our historic
42:10
approach. We need to make the most of the
42:11
space station while we got it. There's no question.
42:14
I mean, you have multiple companies right now, you know,
42:17
that have set out on business model of making and operating
42:20
space stations. That's pretty cool, but we want
42:23
to help create some of the demand for it.
42:25
We want all the pharmaceutical companies lining up and saying
42:28
I'll take one. We're very far from that right
42:31
now. All the biotech companies, I
42:32
need my space station. That's the exciting future we
42:35
all want to see someday. So I think we absolutely have to
42:38
kind of challenge the current approach.
42:40
We need an outreach effort to all of the industries and
42:44
academia that think they have the potential for an orbital
42:47
economy breakthrough and do everything we can to prioritize
42:50
getting that science and research to the space station,
42:52
figure it out, and give the commercial space station
42:55
companies a fighting chance. We're gonna need to depend on
42:57
them, so we gotta do all we can in the years ahead on that.
43:01
And we have time for a few more questions.
43:04
Sorry for lumping so many in, but I did promise to get to as
43:06
many as possible. We have a great one from Vandana
43:10
JA from Ames. Welcome.
43:12
What advice would you give to early and mid career scientists
43:15
and engineers and NASA who want to take risks and innovate but
43:19
also operate within a highly risk averse environment?
43:22
What leadership principles from your commercial space experiment
43:25
experience do you think are most important for empowering NASA's
43:29
workforce while maintaining mission assurance and scientific
43:33
rigor? I I mean, look, there's a lot
43:37
there to it, but I think the general question is, you know,
43:41
do we do many of us do we believe that there are areas
43:43
where we can take, you know, smarter risks to get to the
43:47
outcome, you know, faster. And that's absolutely the
43:51
direction we need to be going in.
43:52
What I'd say again, it's like this is not very few things in
43:55
an organization, you know, the size of NASA can be solved with
43:59
waving the magic wand. Please take more risk and that
44:02
be the right statement to make. It's not it's, it's got to be a
44:05
lot of littles. And I think, you know, if we do
44:08
have young engineers, scientists, researchers out
44:10
there that believe there is a better approach to get to the
44:13
right outcome faster and lower cost, you got to present it in
44:18
that in the right way to your leadership team.
44:21
Make the case of why this is, why this is the right approach.
44:25
And I encourage the leaders out there, supervisors, managers
44:28
that are mentoring this young talent to be receptive and open
44:31
minded to it. You know, think through what are
44:33
the real risks? Is this, is this still, I mean,
44:36
is this still relevant today? And have we learned, have we
44:39
gathered more data that will allow us to rethink this?
44:41
What is the consequence of this? Is it something that's worth
44:44
taking to advance the ball forward?
44:47
It's gonna be a lot of littles. I'm gonna certainly be looking
44:49
for opportunities to push down some of these philosophies from
44:54
the the top of the agency. But it's gonna it's, it's
44:57
obviously gonna rely on a lot of the managers and leaders in the
44:59
field too, to be open minded and receptive and to to the young
45:02
talent to make the good case about why we should think, look
45:05
at doing things in a, a slightly different way.
45:08
We have a question from Diego out of Jonathan asking how you
45:11
will ensure a whole of government focus on human space
45:14
exploration and gain support. Well, I think there I mean there
45:21
it's a good question. I think there is a lot of
45:23
support. I mean, you know the, the
45:25
additional funds that were authorized in the one big
45:28
beautiful bill, a lot of it does concentrate on on human space
45:32
exploration. So I, I would say that that is
45:36
of great interest across across the government.
45:39
I know that a lot of the commercial launch providers that
45:43
we're working with have various human Space Flight ambitions.
45:46
That's not one company. It's not too good.
45:48
I mean, I, I might not even be 3 companies anymore.
45:51
I mean, I think several have actually announced, you know,
45:54
plans for crude vehicles. This is exciting.
45:57
This is what we want now this we are the pioneer in this field.
46:01
We've done an awful lot to help, you know, educate and enable the
46:05
companies that have been successful doing this today, the
46:07
commercial providers. We need to continue to do that.
46:10
And we probably will arrive at that, that light switch moment
46:14
in the not too distant future where we do go from the few
46:17
being able to see the world from such a such an amazing
46:21
perspective, not entirely like that, but to the many, which is
46:26
pretty, which is pretty exciting.
46:28
I think that's always kind of one of the, I don't know,
46:30
underlining goals that we all have here at this agency.
46:34
And one more from Ryan Scott from Goddard.
46:36
Do you have any lessons or science outlook from Inspiration
46:39
4 or Polaris Don which you plan to bring to your role?
46:45
Well, I, I mean, it's, I'm sure I can give a lot of thought to
46:48
it, but I'll just go on that when we, when we were lucky
46:51
enough to be in that environment, we tried to
46:53
maximize every second that was available for scientific
46:56
purposes, knowing how lucky we were to be there.
46:59
And it's really the same message back here to the agency with the
47:03
resources that are provided to us.
47:05
We need to maximize the scientific value of every dollar
47:08
that's afforded to us, which means probably many cases
47:11
challenging the approach or at least our historic approach to
47:14
get to a better outcome faster and and at lower cost.
47:20
So yeah, I guess that would be. And with that last question, we
47:23
are at time. So thank you all for joining us
47:26
today and thank you to Administrator Isaac Men for your
47:29
time in this thoughtful conversation.
47:31
We are looking forward to many more of these in the months and
47:34
years ahead as the agency accelerates the golden age of
47:36
innovation and exploration. Happy holidays everyone.