Jared Isaacman’s Mission to Rebuild NASA

Good morning!

In today’s email:

• Trump Renominates Jared Isaacman to Lead NASA Into a New Era

• Around the Skies: FAA reopens skies after shutdown, Boeing avoids trial over fatal MAX crashes, UPS pilots unite after heartbreaking crash, Joby debuts VTOL built for defense roles, Legends of Aviation unveil star-studded class

• PilotTube: Meet Fury: The Near-Mach Drone Changing Air Combat

THE BUSINESS OF AVIATION

The Space CEO Returns: Jared Isaacman’s Bid to Modernize NASA

Jared Isaacman’s return to the helm of NASA marks one of the most dramatic turns yet in America’s modern space program. The billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut, best known for commanding two SpaceX missions he personally funded, has been renominated by President Donald Trump to lead the space agency after a politically charged withdrawal earlier this year. Backed by broad bipartisan and industry support, Isaacman appears once again poised to steer NASA into a new, more commercially integrated era. In his words, the trust placed in him by the space-loving community is both humbling and a responsibility he intends to honor.

His comeback followed the leak of his “Athena” manifesto, a 62-page blueprint for NASA reform that outlined a vision of reorganization, innovation and deeper collaboration with private industry. The document’s release, reportedly traced to interim NASA administrator Sean Duffy, a rival candidate, stirred controversy in Washington and throughout the aerospace sector. Critics accused Isaacman of favoring SpaceX, while supporters praised Athena as a rare instance of forward-thinking strategy. Undeterred, Isaacman defended the plan as a living document designed to evolve through dialogue and data rather than dictate from the top.

Isaacman’s priorities, summarized as “Reorganize and empower,” “American leadership in space,” “Solving the orbital economy,” “NASA as a force multiplier for science” and “Investing in the future,” combine entrepreneurial energy with pragmatic governance. He has emphasized that his intent is not to dismantle NASA’s legacy programs but to modernize them, flatten bureaucracy, boost efficiency and leverage the private sector’s speed and cost advantages. He has also pushed back on claims that Athena would shutter field centers or cancel key missions like Artemis, instead advocating for adaptive use of resources to accelerate both scientific discovery and human exploration.

For NASA, Isaacman’s renomination represented more than a change in leadership—it signaled a test of whether the agency could thrive at the crossroads of government tradition and commercial innovation. If confirmed, he would inherit a NASA pulled between lunar ambitions, Mars goals and Earth-bound political realities. Yet for Isaacman, whose career has been defined by bold bets on technology and human potential, that tension may be the kind of challenge he was built to navigate.

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AROUND THE SKIES

🛩️ The DOT and FAA announced the lifting of the nationwide flight-reduction emergency order yesterday, November 17 at 6 a.m., restoring normal operations across the National Airspace System. The move came after controller staffing rebounded and staffing-trigger events dropped back to pre-shutdown levels. With limits on GA operations, VFR approaches, space launches and aerial missions ending, the airspace opened back up. Officials said the focus now shifts to accelerating controller hiring and modernizing the nation’s air traffic system.

🛩️ A federal judge approved the Justice Department’s move to drop its criminal case against Boeing, clearing the manufacturer of prosecution over the two fatal 737 Max crashes. Judge Reed O’Connor said the non-prosecution agreement fell short of real accountability but acknowledged he lacked the authority to reject it. The decision ended the possibility of a trial and locked in more than $1.1 billion in penalties and major safety investments from Boeing. For the families of the 346 victims, it closed a turbulent chapter—though not the way many had hoped.

🛩️ After the catastrophic UPS Flight 2976 crash, pilots across the company mourned three colleagues while the union stepped in to support grieving families and shaken crew members. Investigators said the MD-11 lost its left engine on takeoff, triggering a fire that led to a devastating impact that also claimed 11 lives on the ground. The FAA grounded all MD-11s for urgent inspections, with UPS and the pilots’ union joining the NTSB to uncover the root cause.

🛩️ Joby Aviation flew its new turbine-electric autonomous VTOL demonstrator for the first time, marking a major step toward military-ready hybrid flight. Built on Joby’s electric air-taxi design, the aircraft added a turbine generator for greater range and payload along with the SuperPilot autonomy suite for mission management and navigation. Developed with L3Harris, the platform targeted roles like contested logistics, low-altitude support and loyal-wingman missions. It was an early look at how hybrid VTOL technology could reshape both defense operations and advanced air mobility.

🛩️ The Living Legends of Aviation has unveiled its 2025 honorees, a lineup that spans a shuttle commander, a pilot-musician and industry leaders who’ve reshaped modern flight. This year’s class includes Eileen Collins, Dan Drohan, Mark Burns, Aaron Tippin and Epic Aircraft CEO Doug King, each known for pushing boundaries in space, business aviation or high-performance aircraft design. The awards ceremony on January 26 will celebrate their bold achievements and the innovations they’ve propelled across the industry—it’s a tribute to the pioneers still writing aviation’s next chapters.

PilotTube

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury was poised for its first semi-autonomous flight after clearing ground tests, catching the eye of any fighter pilot who knew what was coming. Built for near-Mach speeds and razor-sharp maneuvering, Fury’s AI was designed to outthink threats in real time without a pilot in the loop. Watching it transition from the test pad to the sky felt like seeing the next era of air combat power up for takeoff.

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