I am honored to receive President Trump’s nomination to serve as the next Administrator of NASA. Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history.
On my last mission to space, my crew and I traveled farther from Earth than anyone in over half a century. I can confidently say this second space age has only just begun. Space holds unparalleled potential for breakthroughs in manufacturing, biotechnology, mining, and perhaps even pathways to new sources of energy. 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 and usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization.
I was born after the Moon landings; my children were born after the final space shuttle launch. With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place. We will inspire children, yours and mine, to look up and dream of what is possible. Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth. It is the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and to work alongside NASA’s extraordinary team to realize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery.
Grateful to serve,
Jared
https://x.com/rookisaacman/status/1864346915183157636?lang=en
Comment: This is Jared Isaacman’s response on X when Trump announced his nomination last December. He’s another young techno-nerd who made his first million in his mother’s basement. He’s a successful entrepreneur who’s been on two SpaceX Dragon capsule orbital flights so he’s obviously close to Musk. I don’t think he’s a bad choice. He seems smart enough to not totally gut NASA once he gets there and sees some of the programs that have going on. Of course he will ensure SpaceX remains an important part of the US space program, but that’s just common sense. SpaceX is already an important and necessary part of our space program.
It does appear that Trump is no longer interested in returning to the Moon. Even though he started the return to the Moon push in his last administration and the Artemis Program, I think Musk has been whispering in his ear about his dream to colonize Mars. We’re prepared to cede the Moon to China and “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” I just hope it’s not at the expense of NASA’s other programs like astronomy. But the Artemis Program may well be on thin ice. Maybe we’ll leave the Moon to commercial space companies.
TTG
This is kinda “spacy”:
Trump wants the $50 billon “cut” in the Defense budget in part shifted over to developing an “Iron Dome” for US.
Why not just ask in a love letter to North Korea buddy to pay for it.
That worked so well with Mexico paying for the wall!
Mexico is paying for the wall. All the remittance payments will now be staying in the US. Those dollars bounce around on the average of 6X’s, creating more Federal revenue. That’s billions of dollars not going to Mexico. This is not including Fed dollars no longer going to illegal aliens which is also being cut out.
Mexico is not only paying for the wall but also a lot more for border security.
babelthuap,
There won’t be any remittance payments because there will be no immigrants working and earning wages to make those remittance payments. That money will be gone.
Exactly. There will be no money going back to Mexico. It will stay here, employing US citizens and purchasing goods and services in the US which are taxed. That money now remains in our economy, not Mexico’s economy.
That’s the easiest way I can explain it. I’m in the top percentage of earners in the country so it’s difficult explaining basic finance to the lower tiers.
This is why the Jewish Mexican feminist President is infuriated. Her economy is going to tank. She does have her cartels but that bucket of money will also dry up with border defense. Mexico is paying for the wall.
TTG,
There will Mexicans on legal work visas, like there used to be. Most of the working illegals cost a lot more than they paid in. How many $billions in tax payer money to house them in hotels in major cities? Healthcare? Earned income tax credits? Ridiculous.
Remittance flows out. Not in. It is leaving the country for good, not returning. This will stop. It stays here. Staying here is better for US citizens. Very bad for Mexico. Mexico is not happy about it.
Illegal criminal aliens working in the US is bad. Getting paid under the table, skirting taxes, not contributing to society, unable to perform civic duties like jury duty. Not good for US citizens. Very very bad.
B,
In 2022, undocumented immigrants contributed $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes, $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes, and $1.8 billion in unemployment insurance, typically by working under borrowed or fraudulent Social Security numbers. Unauthorized immigrants, however, are ineligible to claim Social Security benefits.
When you add up all the taxes paid, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022.
[Institution on Taxation and Economic Policy, is generally considered nonpartisan]
al,
I was just going to mention that. I’m sure Mexico and other countries will miss the remittances, but the federal government is also going to miss that $30 billion a year. And employers are going to miss all that work being performed by illegals and even those formerly authorized to work who will now be deported.
Al,
Where did they get all those SSNs? Which employers filled out those I-9s with those SSNs? Which Americans had lost job opportunities because those people illegally here were working at those lower wages?
When do the employers get fined and driven out of business for their illegal conduct?
Who pays for the native born english language speaking students who had to share classrooms with those whose parents were illegally here? What is the cost to them in lower educational value recieved and lower standards of living because of illegal employment of parents here illegally.
“undocumented” Hard to be undocumented when you have an SSN. Or is that just another felony committed?
You left out all the identity theft costs from “borrowed” and stolen SSNs.
TTG,
“employers are going to miss all that work being performed by illegals”
You mean that work will STILL have to be done? At what wage rates and what does the social security system collect if those are higher? hint: more $.
what about $43 Billion in FEMA money paid in NYC alone to house the illegals? If you add what is being paid in other cities no doubt the federal money for housing alone at least equals what ‘Al’ says was paid into the system.
Something funny is that the progressives here have a bee in their bonnet over suspicions that billionaires like Trump and Musk are using the federal government to enrich themselves. Yet, they seem fine with wealthy capitalists using federal money to subsidize and exploit a cheap labor pool of low skill/low education powerless recent migrants.
The cognitive dissonance and hypocrisy of virtue signaling knows no bounds.
Being a space passenger is not necessarily a qualification for being a NASA administrator. It is a complicated job and a demanding one. Over the years I have met quite a few people who were career executives at NASA and their skill sets are rather unique. They have to understand science, engineering and policy. Any lack of experience in any one will be limiting. They also have to be excellent problem solvers. But time will tell. I don’t expect much other than destruction from most of the people hired by Trump. It appears that pucker power is the most prized ability.
My opinion:
The push to send men to Mars is a giant boondoggle –
whether it is funded by Elon Musk or the USG.
What a waste of money!
It would have been far better to spend those funds on something that would benefit us humans on Earth, whether
– lowering taxes,
– reducing the deficit,
– lowering prices on products, or
– trying to reduce global warming.
I think Elon Musk has better use for his wealth.
KH –
Elon won’t use his own wealth for Mars. He’ll boondoggle it from American taxpayers.
I agree with you. There is a seriously harsh environment on Mars and any valuable extraction would face very high transportation costs. And there are no Musk libraries, or community centers, or museums. In the meantime, his car company is facing a lot of problems, mainly caused by him and at some point, both SpaceX and Starlink will have to be treated as the public utilities that they are. Of course, he may very well be accumulating some legal problems with his recent actions, since he is a government contractor.
Keith, be assured Musk is polishing off right now a fat Mars contract for Trump to approve!
Plans of going to Mars seems really stupid and wasteful to me, too.
What is the point? We can send drones and robots there and learn whatever we need to. If there are rare minerals, drones and robots can capture those. People that think they want to go to Mars appear to me to be of the same breed that want to freeze their carcasses based on the misguided hope that some day they can be revived, or the contents of their severed heads can be downloaded into a computer or sewed onto some hapless loser’s body. All of which is pretty much in the same camp as chopping off a boy’s genitalia and making a hole where it used be, dumping in some hormones and calling it a girl.
So many ways to get it wrong.