Ep 144: Jared Isaacman's Bold Vision for Moon Bases, Nuclear Power in Space, and Returning NASA to Greatness

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Mar 3, 2026

Jared Isaacman, entrepreneur, pilot and commercial astronaut turned NASA Administrator, built a payments empire and a private air force before commanding civilian spaceflights. He talks about returning NASA to the Moon by 2028, ramping Artemis launch cadence, nuclear power and propulsion for deep space, and building lasting lunar bases and a thriving space economy.

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ANECDOTE

From Airshow Team To The World’s 12th Largest Air Force

Jared built Draken International by pivoting an aerobatic formation team into a commercial adversary air force for military training.
He acquired over 100 fighter jets including MiG-21s, Mirage F-1s and A4 Skyhawks and became briefly the 12th largest air force in the world.

ANECDOTE

Lifelong Astronaut Dream Fueled By Record Flights

Jared wanted to be an astronaut since kindergarten and pursued piloting and record flights as steps toward that dream.
His 2008 around-the-world record (61 hours, 58 minutes) and Inspiration4 participation led to deeper involvement in commercial human spaceflight.

INSIGHT

Why NASA Lost Its Singular Focus

NASA's past success came from singular national focus and little external competition, which concentrated top talent on one mission.
Today fragmented priorities, external stakeholders, and contractor-heavy staffing dilute focus and slow progress.

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As a teenager, Jared Isaacman built a billion-dollar payments company. He then pursued aviation, acquiring the world's largest private air force and creating “Top Gun as a service,” before commanding the first all-civilian spaceflight. Now, he's taking on his greatest challenge: returning NASA to greatness. Can we beat China back to the Moon? Will we reach Mars within a decade? And how close are we to making nuclear propulsion, space colonies, and other sci-fi futures a reality? We discuss all this and more with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. We begin with his upbringing and the origins of Shift4 Payments, which now processes more than $200 billion annually. A prolific pilot, he went on to build Draken International and acquire over 100 fighter jets for adversary training — at one point, he owned the 12th largest air force in the world! Next, we dive into his experience as a commercial astronaut and why he sought the helm of NASA. Jared outlines his bold vision to reform NASA, starting with his announcement to increase the Artemis launch cadence and ensure a return to the Moon by 2028. We discuss the challenges of building a permanent Moon presence, and why nuclear power and propulsion in space is a NASA-unique mission that will attract top talent and help the agency achieve greatness again. Finally, we explore the growing space economy and exciting sci-fi realities we will experience in the years ahead. NASA is a storied American institution; we are fortunate to have a talented leader like Jared who wants to see it not only thrive again, but reach even greater heights.

00:00 Episode intro

01:30 Top Gun as a service

07:40 Founding a billion-dollar payments company

09:30 Pioneering private spaceflight

12:00 What happened to NASA?

14:40 Getting back to the Moon by 2028

20:47 Jared announces new plans for Artemis

25:15 Future of the space economy

27:50 Nuclear power in space

29:00 Sci-fi futures becoming reality

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