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Trump picks billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads that
• 0:08
  shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neurolink.
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  I'm your host Will Walden. Breaking news, Donald Trump just
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  pictured Isaacman to run NASA when he comes in office.
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  Now this makes me wonder if SpaceX might actually end up
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  taking over the whole moon program.
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  What do you think about their Starship possibly replacing the
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  $2 billion per launch SLS rocket?
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  So this space exploration landscape just shifted
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  dramatically as president-elect Donald Trump nominated Jared
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  Isaacman, who's 41 year old CEO of Shift 4 Payments and
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  accomplished private astronaut, to serve as the next NASA
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  administrator. Isaacman, who has commanded 2
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  private Space Flight missions through SpaceX, brings a unique
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  combination of business, this acumen and hands on space
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  experience to the role. His nomination arrives at a
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  critical juncture for America's space program, as NASA grapples
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  with ongoing delays in its Artemis moon missions and
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  mounting pressure from China's advancing space capabilities.
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  The selection of Isaacman makes a notable departure from NASA's
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  recent leadership appointments, which have traditionally favored
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  former politicians. The current administrator, Bill
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  Nelson, and his predecessor, Jim Bridenstine, both served in
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  Congress before taking the helm at NASA.
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  The Isaacsman's background in the private sector, coupled with
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  his actual Space Flight experience, suggests a potential
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  shift toward greater commercial integration in NASA's
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  operations. His successful leadership of
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  payment processing company Shift 4, combined with his achievement
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  in conducting the first ever private spacewalk from a SpaceX
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  Dragon capsule during the Polaris Dawn mission,
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  demonstrate his capacity to merge technological innovation
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  with practical space operations. The timing of Trump's
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  announcements carries particularly weight as it comes
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  months earlier than typical presidential transitions.
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  This accelerated timeline coincides with increased
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  involvement from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's in discussions about
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  space exploration with the president-elect.
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  Trump's personal attendance at Spacex's 6th Starship test
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  launch in Texas shows the growing influence of commercial
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  space companies and shaping national space policy.
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  Now the relationship between Musk and Trump has intensified,
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  with SpaceX founder taking on an advisory role focused on federal
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  budget reduction strategies. Now, Isaac Mann's nomination
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  arrives during a period of uncertainty for NASA Space
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  Launch System, the agency's most powerful rocket, which is
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  designed for deep space missions.
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  Each SLS launch carries a price tag over $2 billion, prompting
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  criticism about cost efficiency. Now, the rocket's performance
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  during the Artemis 1 mission in 2022 proved successful, yet
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  questions persist about its long term viability in an era of
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  increasing commercial space capabilities.
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  Now, the substantial investment already made in SLS
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  infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center adds complexity to any
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  potential program changes. Now, the incoming
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  administration's previous public statements about NASA's Artemis
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  program warrant attention, though Isaacman has openly
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  criticized the agency's expenditure on SLS rockets and
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  questioned the decision to award a second lunar Lander contract
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  to Blue Origin. His statement was Spend billions
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  on lunar Lander redundancy that you don't have with SLS at the
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  expense of dozens of scientific programs.
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  I don't like it. That provides insight into his
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  perspective on resource allocation within NASA's
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  portfolio. Now, the relationship between
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  NASA and SpaceX continues to evolve, though, particularly
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  regarding the development of Starship.
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  This spacecraft serves a dual role in the current Artemis
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  architecture, functioning as the lunar Lander for astronaut
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  service missions. And SpaceX has achieved notable
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  progress with Starship recently, including a a technological
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  feat. No one's ever done this before,
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  but they've landed the vehicle's massive booster stage, and it
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  was successfully caught by the robotic chopsticks during its
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  return flight to the Texas launch facility.
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  The company's emphasis on reusability presents potential
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  billions of dollars in cost advantages for future missions.
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  Now, China's declared intentions to land astronauts on the moon
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  by 20-30 adds urgency to America's lunar ambitions.
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  The Chinese space program's track record of meeting
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  announced deadlines contrasts with NASA's recent schedule
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  delays, technical challenges with various Artemis components
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  including space suits, Orion's spacecraft systems and also
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  Starship. That puts the first crew Lander
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  landing to autumn of 2026 significantly later than
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  initially planned. Now, the nomination of Isaacman
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  raises questions about the future direction of NASA's
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  Aeronautics Research Division under the current
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  administration. This development has focused on
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  developing environmentally friendly aviation technologies.
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  Similarly, the Space Science Unit has experienced budget
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  constraints in workforce reductions as resources were
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  redirected toward the Artemis program.
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  Isaacman's approach to balancing these competing priorities
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  remains to be determined for the future.
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  Now, the Polaris program, which his privately funded series of
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  increasingly challenged space missions, is up in arms too.
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  It's up up for grabs, I should say.
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  The successful completion of Polaris Dawn, featuring the
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  first commercial spacewalk demonstrated Isaac Min's ability
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  to execute complex space operations.
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  Now, during this historic event, Isaac Min's observation back at
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  home, we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure
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  looks like a perfect world revealed his philosophical
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  perspective on space exploration.
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  Now, the transition in NASA leadership occurs amid ongoing
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  debates about the most efficient path to lunar exploration.
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  Now, while the SLS rocket currently serves as the only
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  vehicle certified to launch the Orion crew capsule directly to
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  the Moon, alternative launch scenarios using Spacex's Falcon
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  Heavy rocket have been considered.
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  However, such alternatives would require substantial
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  modifications to both hardware and procedures, potentially
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  introducing additional delays to the Artemis timeline.
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  Technical requirements for lunar missions extend beyond launch
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  capabilities, though. The ability to reach various
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  lunar destinations, particularly the scientifically intriguing
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  South Pole region, demands specific vehicle performance
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  characteristics. The complexity of these
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  requirements raises questions about the readiness of
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  commercial providers to assume greater responsibility for
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  mission critical systems. Now.
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  Isaac Mann's business experience could prove valuable in managing
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  NASA's substantial budget, though, which currently stands
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  at nearly $25 billion. His statement accepting the
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  nomination emphasized both personal passion and
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  professional commitment, he said.
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  Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I'm
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  passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in
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  human history. Further expressed his intentions
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  to step down to shift for CEO upon confirmation while
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  maintaining majority ownership of the company.
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  Now, the commercial space sector's growing capability to
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  conduct human spaceflight operations independently raises
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  fundamental questions about NASA's future role.
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  Under Isaac Man's leadership, the agency might accelerate its
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  transition toward becoming a customer of Commercial Services
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  rather than maintaining traditional operational control
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  over all aspects of space missions.
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  The evolution could affect thousands of NASA employees and
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  contractors across the United States, and the broader
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  implications for International Space collaboration remain
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  uncertain. NASA's current partners,
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  particularly with the European Space Agency and other
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  international contributors to the Artemis program, might
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  require reassessment under new leadership priorities.
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  These relationships represent years of diplomatic and
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  technical cooperation, the factor into America's global
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  leadership in space exploration. Now, the success of NASA's moon
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  program depends heavily on the integration of various complex
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  systems, including the Orion spacecraft, lunar Landers, and
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  surface systems, and any major changes to the current
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  architecture would need to address these interdependencies
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  while maintaining progress toward establishing goals.
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  A challenge of balancing innovation and practical
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  constraints will likely define Isaacman's tenure if confirmed
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  as administrator now. Changes in NASA's leadership
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  historically result in adjustments to programs,
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  priorities, and implementation strategies.
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  As Isaacman prepares for Senate confirmation hearings, his
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  vision for America's space program will face scrutiny from
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  legislators concerned with maintaining both technological
• 9:01
  leadership and also fiscal responsibilities.
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  He has extensive leadership experience in both business and
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  spaceflight operations, and it provides a unique foundation for
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  addressing the challenges of NASA.
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  It could transform American space policy, combining
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  commercial space expertise in a way that's never been seen
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  before with the money from the government to advance lunar
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  exploration and growing international competition from
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  China. Hey, thank you so much for
• 9:40
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 9:42
  support. If you could take a second and
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  hit this subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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• 10:00
  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stagezero and
• 10:06
  please take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you
• 10:09
  tomorrow.