NASA boss-to-be gets spaced as proposed budget cuts detailed

White House withdraws Isaacman pick amid potential $6B funding drop

More details are emerging about potential NASA budget cuts alongside the abrupt withdrawal of the nomination of Jared Isaacman as the agency's new administrator.

Isaacman, a paying SpaceX customer who has flown several private missions with the company, was expected to be confirmed as the new NASA administrator within the next few days after a 2024 nomination for the position by the Trump administration.

However, after details of NASA's proposed budget were released and SpaceX boss Elon Musk departed Washington, the White House abruptly withdrew Isaacman's nomination.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA. I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned."

Isaacman described the previous six months as "enlightening" and noted that both Republican and Democrat lawmakers "care deeply about the mission."

"That was on full display during my hearing, where leaders on both sides of the aisle made clear they're willing to fight for the world's most accomplished space agency."

It is unclear what caused the sudden change of heart. Some reports suggest that Isaacman's contributions to the campaigns of Democrat lawmakers were a factor. Another explanation is that the withdrawal is related to Musk's departure.

A simpler reason is that Isaacman might have become too troublesome in the role. NASA's science budget is set for catastrophic cuts should the proposal be passed; Isaacman called for a scalpel rather than a hatchet to be taken to funding.

NASA science to disappear into a black hole?

Isaacman's nomination was withdrawn as details were added to NASA's "skinny" budget. Top-level funding for the agency, as porposed, will drop to $18.8 billion from the fiscal 2025 figure of $24.9 billion. As expected, NASA's science programs are to bear a significant chunk of that cut.

This would mean the end of many programs, some of which are active missions while others are in varying stages of development. Astrophysics missions, such as Chandra, would be terminated, as would New Horizons. The European Space Agency will also be disappointed in the proposed withdrawal of NASA from the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover mission (the agency was to provide launch services, rockets for the landing, and some heater units) and the termination of its participation in the Mars Express mission.

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) project is still set to be terminated under the budget cut proposal, with the last flight being Artemis III. This is planned to land the first human crew on the Moon since the days of Apollo. The details also flesh out the expectations for SpaceX's Starship, which is to provide the Human Landing System (HLS) for the mission. Despite the failure of the most recent flight test of SpaceX's newest rocket, the expectation is for the company to manage a pair of Starship launches in FY 2026 to demonstrate rendezvous, docking, and propellant transfer. A demonstration of an uncrewed lunar landing is also expected.

The Planetary Society listed the missions that could be cut if the budget proposal goes ahead. It noted: "this request represents the smallest NASA budget since FY 1961 – a level enacted before the first American had launched into space."

Describing it as "an extinction-level event" for the agency, the Planetary Society called the budget "dead on arrival in Congress."

The budget proposal has yet to be enacted, and there will be an opportunity for lawmakers to push back against the cuts. ®