NASA's Boss⁘to⁘be Proclaims We're About To Enter An “Age Of Experimentation” ⁘ Ars...

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ORLANDO, Florida —On Wednesday, Jared Isaacman made his first public appearance since his nomination earlier this month to become NASA's next administrator. Although his remarks were short on specifics, Isaacman endorsed a vision that would signal radical departures from the way NASA does business.

He talked of commercial investment, a thriving space economy, and going fast and taking risks. These talking points are familiar to anyone who has listened to NASA's leadership in recent years, and there has been tangible progress in the agency's partnerships with commercial companies. However, NASA is leaving some commercial expertise on the field, or in this case, on the ground.

"I love all about the commercial space industry right now," Isaacman said in a discussion at the Space Force Association's Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Florida. "They're all generally doing the same thing, which is putting a lot of their own dollars on the line because they believe in the future that it holds."

It's not just launch. More startups are pursuing satellite manufacturing, Earth return vehicles, and commercial space stations. But rockets happen to be one of the most mature segments of the commercial space industry, and they attract a lot of attention.

"Blue Origin is putting a ton of their own money on the line," Isaacman said. "I love everything that Rocket Lab did, as kind of another small scrappy startup that's doing great things. And, for sure, SpaceX and their approach with a fully reusable first and second stage. Pretty awesome stuff."

Blue Origin and SpaceX were founded by Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who made their first fortune in other businesses. Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, didn't start out rich, but his company's success has made him a billionaire.

Isaacman, too, is a wealthy entrepreneur . According to Forbes, he has a net worth of $1.9 billion, primarily from his stake as founder of Shift4, a mobile payments platform he established when he dropped out of high school at the age of 16. Isaacman later earned his GED and a bachelor's degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.