Venezuela's Navy Begins Escorting Ships as U.S. Threatens Blockade

Summary

After 11 months of tumult and downsizing, NASA will have a permanent leader. The U.S. Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur who traveled to orbit twice on private space missions, to the post of administrator on Wednesday by a 67-30 vote.As Mr. Isaacman assumes his post, some believe NASA has an opportunity for reinvention similar to a crossroads that the agency faced after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union two years later. In that time period, the agency was also led by an administrator who was an executive bringing ideas from the private sector to the federal space agency, rather than a former NASA astronaut or a government insider.He was Daniel Goldin, who was nominated by President George H.W. Bush and ended up also serving Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush during his tenure of nearly a decade. The ups and downs of Mr. Goldin’s leadership could be instructive for Mr. Isaacman.In May, Mr. Isaacman wrote a document called “Project Athena Strategic Plan,” which offered ideas about how he hoped to reorganize and reinvigorate NASA.“NASA will return to focusing on achieving the near impossible — doing what no other agency, organization or company is capable of doing,” he wrote in the introduction.Mr. Isaacman highlighted three objectives: human space exploration of the moon, Mars and deep space; unlocking a larger space economy; and becoming a “force multiplier” for science missions, tapping into partnerships with commercial companies and academia to bring down costs.He has received broad support from the space community. “I think that puts NASA back on a good track,” said Todd Harrison, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute, a center right think tank.That sentiment was shared by Senator Marie Cantwell, Democrat of Washington. On Wednesday, she highlighted the importance of returning NASA astronauts to the moon as she called on senators to support his nomination.“I am optimistic that...