“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump wrote in a post on social media.

    • actually@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Yea, but he going to be really enthusiastic while he is shoveling money to both musk and perhaps himself. And he believes the moon landings are real.

      It could have been a moon landing denier or even a flat earther.

      There is a non zero chance he may actually be good for the space program in general? In the meantime the bar is lowered enough that this may be the best in a bad lot, even if this nomination redefines the term “industry capture”

      • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I mean, the dude loves space so much he paid out of pocket to go there. He’s a real pilot and real astronaut. Not a bad sign at all.

        On the other hand we should always be wary of putting the rich in charge of things.

          • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            How about running scientific payloads and testing new EVA suits? The Polaris Dawn missions are absolutely not joyrides like we’ve seen other billionaires do.

          • Aphelion@lemm.ee
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            1 month ago

            The definition of an astronaut:

            “The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed the Kármán line, at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi). In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 80 kilometres (50 mi) are awarded astronaut wings.”

            So yes, that does make him an astronaut.