BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Brad Klein reviews upcoming astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s "Backyard Astronomy Guy," Marty McGuire.
This week, the discussion is about the revived nomination of Lehigh Valley entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead the U.S. space agency.
“It is pretty exciting that somebody from the Lehigh Valley… has the chance to become the head of NASA,” McGuire said.
Isaacman is the CEO and founder of credit card processing company, Shift4, based in Upper Saucon Township. It's his second time this year to be in line for NASA’s top job.
After nominating Isaacman to the job late last year, President Donald Trump appeared to change his mind in the midst of a falling out with tech billionaire Elon Musk, posting his reversal on Truth Social in May.
“After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,” Trump wrote. “I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space.”
But the president appears to have changed his opinion of Isaacman once more and now, full Senate confirmation could come before the end of the year.
Isaacman is an avid pilot, and owns a Florida-based company with a fleet of fighter jets that helps in training the U.S. military. And he has funded and flown on two commercial space flights through Musk’s SpaceX.
McGuire, along with other organizers of the annual Lehigh Valley Space Fest, was invited to Lehigh University in October to hear Isaacman speak as part of the Future Maker series, prior to his renomination for NASA’s top job.
“His inspirational talk made for a fascinating story,” McGuire said.
