NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to submit Jared Isaacman‘s nomination for NASA Administrator favorably to the full Senate. This is the final step before Isaacman can be confirmed as the new administrator.

SpaceX has been the go-to launcher for both commercial and government satellites for a few years running now. Their Silicon Valley thinking and reusability innovation were supposed to spur an era of low-cost launches, something that has yet to come to NASA missions as of yet.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will vote on Jared Isaacman‘s confirmation as NASA’s next Administrator on Wednesday. Both the Committee’s Republicans and Democrats released Isaacman’s written questions, so here’s what he thinks about some of the key issues facing NASA right now.

A new space telescope that is 87% paid for, on schedule, and on budget, could be completely canned if President Trump’s proposed budget makes it law for NASA. That wouldn’t be the only thing of NASA’s that would be going away either.

With NASA‘s DC headquarters’ lease up in 2028, the space agency is looking for a new home and suitors are already lining up. While it sounds crazy that you would take a government agency out of the political center of the US, some states think it’s possible.

After a seven-month stay in space, NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned Saturday on the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in Kazakhstan. While in space, Pettit wowed the world with a constant stream of photos taken outside the windows of the ISS. Here are some of our favorites.

NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team moves quickly to prepare Artemis 2 for launch in early 2026. In March, EGS successfully stacked the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage onto the mobile launcher between the two solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) is now part of the core stage. Alongside core stage integration, NASA has steadily progressed on the Orion spacecraft, preparing it for its first crewed mission around the Moon and back.

Last week, Jared Isaacman sat in front of his first Congressional hearing in what is expected to be his new career as NASA Administrator. On Wednesday, Isaacman sat in front of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for his confirmation hearing, answering any questions the Senators wished before they voted on giving him the job or not. Here are five things we could expect from potential Administrator Isaacman if he is confirmed.

The Artemis Program political drama continues as Jared Isaacman, nominee for NASA Administrator, shares his support for returning to the Moon to build up the capabilities to get to Mars. This sounds very similar to NASA’s already-established Moon-to-Mars program, which has been the main talking point over the last eight years when asked about going to Mars. However, this goes against what has been publicly stated about the direction of the nation’s space program.

Jared Isaacman has finally received his call to be interviewed by the Senate for his new job as NASA Administrator, much more delayed than we originally thought. This will kick off the intense process before Isaacman can officially begin managing the agency.

Last week NASA announced that it has added SpaceX’s Starship rocket to its NASA Launch Services II contract, giving future access to NASA missions when the agency and rocket are ready. However, Starship’s current status will need to move forward in development much further before it will likely be able to compete for contracts.

After a rather space-packed first term, many expected the same to happen during President Trump‘s second term. However, we are approaching two-thirds of the way through Trump’s 100 days, and we still don’t have a firm understanding of his space goals.

Over the weekend and yesterday, NASA and SpaceX successfully rotated out Crew-9 for Crew-10 at the International Space Station. The crew members included former Starliner crew members, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

Last night, SpaceX attempted to launch its Crew-10 mission from LC-39A; however, it ran into a snag about 40 minutes before liftoff, scrubbing the launch. NASA and SpaceX will reattempt to launch the international crew of four on Friday, March 14 at 7:03 P.M. ET.

Last week was a big week for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program as it saw two landings by two different companies. The hope was that the agency would end up with two successful providers of NASA science to the Moon’s surface; instead, it saw one, with the other falling over once again.

Drama has once again emerged regarding the Starliner crew. The crew has become the subject of political debate, despite the mission’s apolitical nature. This controversy follows Elon Musk’s insults toward a former ISS commander after comments about an interview between Musk and President Donald Trump.

Yesterday, NASA’s Exploration Ground System (EGS) completed stacking the final component for Artemis 2’s SLS boosters, including the nosecone. This marks the completion of stacking the two Solid Rocket Boosters, which will provide most of the thrust to lift the Artemis 2 crew off the pad.

The Artemis program, officially named and accelerated during President Trump’s first term, aims to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a sustainable human presence. Building upon earlier initiatives, including the Constellation program under President George W. Bush, the program has faced significant delays and escalating costs. Estimates suggest that by 2025, the total expenditure could reach $93 billion.

Boeing’s Starliner program has been nearly disastrous for the last few years. With every step forward, it feels like there are two steps backward. Boeing is losing money hand over fist on Starliner, so what have they been doing?

The Senate committee for Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the one that oversees NASA, is holding a hearing on the potential benefits of purchasing Greenland, while the nation’s space program is in need of leadership from the nominated administrator and private astronaut, Jared Isaacman.

Tuesday morning, Blue Origin launches its 29th New Shepard mission from West Texas. While the missions have become rather mundane, this time the company was able to spin the capsule up to simulate lunar gravity for the payloads it carried.