A leaked 62-page manifesto for the future of NASA, dubbed \u201cProject Athena,\u201d is making waves in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
The document, which was obtained by Politico<\/a> and Ars Technica<\/a> this week, was drafted by former NASA administrator nominee and billionaire SpaceX tourist Jared Isaacman earlier this year. It suggests making sweeping changes to the space agency \u2014 by tripling down on its ties to the private sector and running it \u201cmore like a business,\u201d per Politico \u2014 that are stirring serious concerns among NASA insiders.<\/p>\n The plan could complicate Isaacman\u2019s attempts to be re-nominated for the position of NASA administrator, serving as political leverage to keep interim NASA administrator and transportation secretary Sean Duffy in the driver\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n However, that\u2019s just one interpretation of the current sentiment on Capitol Hill. The plan, which according to Ars \u201creflects the priorities of the Trump administration for human space exploration,\u201d could alternately swing the balance of power the other way, potentially opening the door for Isaacman once more.<\/p>\n The news highlights a precarious gap in the vision for the future of NASA between the White House and Congress\u00a0\u2014 a standoff<\/a> that has thrown the agency, which still doesn\u2019t have a long-term leader even ten months into Trump\u2019s second term, into chaos.<\/p>\n Isaacman, who was handpicked by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk<\/a>, was initially the clear frontrunner for the position of NASA administrator. He gained substantial support<\/a> in Congress for his nomination, despite possible conflicts of interest due to his close ties to SpaceX. However, in late May, he was kicked to the curb by president Trump, closely following a major falling out between him and Musk<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Politico, Isaacman\u2019s team gave the 62-page document \u2014 a shortened version of a much longer draft \u2014 to Duffy in August.<\/p>\n The intention behind the move remains somewhat hazy. Is Isaacman trying to get his name back out there \u2014\u00a0or was more of a \u201ccourtesy\u201d to Duffy\u2019s team, as Ars suggests?<\/p>\n And could Duffy be using the document to undermine Isaacman\u2019s attempts to be re-nominated by arguing that the proposed changes go against the interests of NASA and its contractors? According to Ars, Duffy has been \u201ctrying to paint Isaacman as someone who would come in and force big changes on NASA and its traditional space contractors,\u201d while doubling down on Musk\u2019s SpaceX.<\/p>\n As outlined in the document, Project Athena would largely align<\/a> with the Trump administration\u2019s intent to gut or streamline huge swathes of the space agency and even recommends taking \u201cNASA out of the taxpayer funded climate science business and [leaving] it for academia to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n It also calls on NASA to cancel its extremely expensive Moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), after Artemis 3 \u2014 the first planned lunar landing in the Artemis program, currently slated for 2028 \u2014 which also aligns with the White House\u2019s proposed changes<\/a> to the program.<\/p>\n Politico characterizes the recommended changes as a \u201cseismic shift in how the space agency has operated,\u201d going as far as to suggest buying \u201cscience data from commercial companies instead of putting up its own satellites, referring to it a \u2018science-as-a-service.’\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed changes may not find much support from within NASA. Staffers have already balked at major cuts to the agency this year, triggering protests<\/a>. One former NASA official described the proposals in the Project Athena document as \u201cbizarre and careless,\u201d per Politico. Another industry insider described the document as a \u201crookie move\u201d and \u201cpresumptuous,\u201d pointing out it would alienate Congress.<\/p>\n Lawmakers have stood firmly behind the SLS, for instance, allocating around $4.1 billion<\/a> to use the rocket for Artemis 4 and 5 in Trump\u2019s \u201cBig, Beautiful Bill,\u201d which passed over the summer.<\/p>\n