June 1, 2025

NASA 'F---ed' Without Isaacman, Who's Next? (Source: Ars Technica)
"NASA is f---ed," one current leader in the agency told Ars on Saturday. "NASA's budget request is just a going-out-of-business mode without Jared there to innovate," a former senior NASA leader said. Two people told Ars that former US Air Force Lt. General Steven Kwast may replace Isaacman. Now retired, Kwast has a distinguished record in the Air Force and is politically loyal to Trump and MAGA. However, his background seems to be far less oriented toward NASA's civil space mission and far more focused on seeing space as a battlefield—decidedly not an arena for cooperation and peaceful exploration. (5/31)

As the Space Business Scales in SoCal, Major Companies Say They Need Workers (Source: Long  Beach Business Journal)
Vast is performing environmental tests for the International Space Station. Relativity Space just snagged the former head of Google to lead the company and its efforts on the Terran R Rocket. And Rocket Lab is getting ready to launch its 64th medium-lift rocket.

The three companies, among others in the aerospace sector, have moved operations to Long Beach in recent years and have added thousands of jobs to the local economy. But executives from the companies said their biggest concern is that the local skilled workforce won’t keep pace with the projects that they are undertaking. (5/30)

Was Isaacman Removal Tied to Dem Political Donations? (Source: New York Times)
People inside and outside NASA had hoped that Mr. Isaacman’s arrival as administrator would help provide stability and a clearer direction for the agency, which has been operating under an acting administrator since the beginning of Mr. Trump’s term. Mr. Isaacman was informed of the decision on Friday, which was also Mr. Musk’s last day in the White House as a special government employee.

Mr. Trump told associates he had learned from allies that Mr. Isaacman had donated to Democrats, including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and former Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, as well as the California Democratic Party, during the past two campaign cycles, the people with knowledge of the deliberations said. Mr. Trump told advisers he was surprised he had not been told about those donations previously, two people briefed on the matter said. (5/31)

Quarantined Ahead of 5th Trip to Space, Whitson Inducted with Trailblazer Harris to Astronaut Hall of Fame (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Four-time spaceflight veteran Peggy Whitson had a good excuse for not showing up Saturday for her own induction ceremony to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. She’s in quarantine to go to space again to command the private Axiom Space Ax-4 mission flying in a new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft set to launch as early as June 8.

Fellow inductee and two-time space shuttle astronaut Bernard Harris, who became the first Black person to perform a spacewalk, was on hand, though. He was joined by dozens of former astronauts and NASA officials as both his and Whitson’s plaques were revealed — becoming the 110th and 111th members of the hall of fame created in 1990 by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation and represented at the visitor complex with its own building honoring inductees. (5/31)

New Billion Dollar Aerospace Investment in Northwest Florida (Source: One Okaloosa)
The State of Florida and Williams International announced a major capital investment expected to total more than $1 billion in Okaloosa County—easily placing the project among the largest in the history of the Northwest Florida region. This announcement follows a comprehensive, multi-state search initiated by aerospace and aviation manufacturer, Williams International in 2023. Williams International’s planned high-volume aviation gas turbine engine manufacturing facility will be constructed in three phases.

Numerous state, regional, and local partners worked together to facilitate this major economic development success story for Northwest Florida. In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded $3.2 million through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to expand manufacturing in Okaloosa County. FloridaCommerce partnered with several state and local organizations including CareerSource Florida, Florida’s Great Northwest, Space Florida, Okaloosa County, and Triumph Gulf Coast on this major economic development win for Florida. (5/29)

Jobs Left Vacant at U.S. Space Command Over Uncertainty of Headquarters Moving Locations (Source: KUSA)
U.S. Space Command is struggling to fill more than 300 open positions in Colorado Springs, as uncertainty continues over whether the Trump administration will move the headquarters to Alabama. A new federal government report reveals that the lack of assurance about the command’s future location is a key reason so many jobs remain vacant. The uncertainty continues to impact hiring and the future of the command’s workforce in Colorado Springs. (5/29)