Opinion – Reforming NASA: A path to Mars and beyond

Despite everything that is broken and unsettling in the world, America and our great space agency is worth fighting for — and fixing.

From the moment Jared’s nomination to head NASA was announced last year, the reaction from passionate space enthusiasts and professionals was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone had ideas — big, small, crazy, pragmatic and visionary. It became immediately clear that no other federal agency attracts the level of engagement NASA does. Space captivates people — us included. So, we wanted to share a few of our ideas. Please consider these thoughts just a drop in the sea of ideas that come from many knowledgeable voices who long for humankind’s next giant leap.

The first step to fixing a problem is admitting we have one. If NASA wants to get back to generating world-changing headlines, we must confront some difficult facts.

Every president for the past 35 years has called for a return to the Moon and a path to Mars. More than $100 billion has been spent, yet the return path remains distant and uncertain. Major programs are over budget, behind schedule and often canceled. This wastes opportunities for science and discovery and undermines public confidence in NASA.

Similarly, we have maintained a continuous presence in low Earth orbit (which is a great accomplishment). But we still haven’t cracked the code on creating the commercial orbital economy. If we don’t, humankind’s future in space will forever be tethered to taxpayer funding and inefficient government spending. The federal government is entering a challenging budgetary environment. The national debt is exploding, and we can’t spend our way out of it. NASA can and must do more with less.

Already, NASA isn’t getting the most out of its budget — whether it’s $20 billion or $25 billion. The agency’s leadership has often said, “If we have 10 healthy centers and take care of people, the science will take care of itself.” By this logic, any CEO with a good human resource department should be as successful as Steve Jobs. This is ludicrous.

One of leadership’s current solutions to budget pressures is to reduce astronaut crew sizes and mission frequency. Meanwhile, bureaucratic positions proliferate. This is unacceptable. Astronauts — not bureaucrats — are the human identity of the agency. There are too many managers, deputies, assistants and review boards — and not enough doers. Bureaucracy is stifling innovation.

The culture must return to being mission focused. We need to empower the best and brightest to make decisions and take calculated risks. Some efforts — such as exploring worlds beyond our own — involve risks worth taking.

NASA has also lost its ability to inspire and excite people. The agency’s storytelling is fragmented. NASA has numerous social media channels and countless small initiatives that dilute the big, bold mission the agency was established to achieve.

NASA must reorganize, cut the bureaucracy and align responsibilities logically with agency priorities alongside a cultural rebirth. We should create engineering and finance strike teams that can identify inefficiencies, solve problems and fix failing programs.

Of course we will also need to use what we already have. This means using the Space Launch System vehicles that are already funded to return to the Moon. This being said, Artemis II must get to the pad and launch by Christmas.

To get to Mars, we must work in parallel alongside the commercial industry that is pioneering the reuseable heavy lift vehicles. NASA should support the development of reusable systems for routine deep space missions and focus agency resources on the challenges commercial industry will not be capable of solving.

Ultimately, we should move beyond Space Launch System. The agency should redirect talent and resources to nuclear electric propulsion. This is the logical evolution for power, efficiency and exploration at scale with dual use potential. NASA needs a mini-Manhattan Project to get America underway on nuclear power in space.

In addition to returning to the Moon and going to Mars, NASA needs to develop an industry outreach effort to prioritize high-value science and commercial work aboard the International Space Station. This incredible investment can generate economic returns. The taxpayers alone can’t fund the future we all want to see in space. As we mentioned before, a strong commercial orbital economy is imperative.

If NASA is operating as it should, we should be able to generate a continuous cycle of amazing scientific discovery. We all love the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble and the Mars rovers. But we need to launch missions like these frequently.

A flagship science program shouldn’t have to cost a billion dollars. Administrator Dan Goldin was right. NASA should focus on lower-cost, higher-frequency missions, that accept more risk. Today’s commercial space sector makes this model much more viable.

This could help enable academic institutions to leverage their $1 trillion in endowments to fund their own extraordinary scientific missions. NASA can be a facilitator and partner in a new age of discovery.

These are turbulent times, and budget pressures are real. But delay and defeat are not options. NASA was never meant to be a caretaker of history. The agency was built to make history. China is moving fast with bold ambitions in the ultimate high ground of space. If we fail to be the leader, we will be the follower — and we may never catch up.

Jared Isaacman is an entrepreneur, pilot, and astronaut with more than 7,000 flight hours, including ratings in experimental and ex-military aircraft. He is executive chairman of Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) and co-founder of Draken International, the world’s largest private air force, supporting U.S. military pilot training. Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995-1999 and a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. He is chairman of Gingrich 360.

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