Billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman donating $15 million for Space Camp programs

Jared Isaacman is donating a big chunk of change to help inspire the astronauts and space scientists of tomorrow.

The billionaire tech entrepreneur and private astronaut, who until recently was on track to become NASA administrator, announced today (July 11) that he's gifting $15 million to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Alabama for its Space Camp programs.

The money will help fund the Center's Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex, which is currently under construction, as well as a fourth dormitory for Space Camp students, according to Space & Rocket Center officials.

The Space & Rocket Center, a Smithsonian affiliate, is the official visitor center for Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA's lead facility for rocket technology development.

It's also home to a number of education and outreach initiatives, including Space Camp, Space Camp Robotics, Aviation Challenge, U.S. Cyber Camp, the Space Camp Institute and the INTUITIVE Planetarium.

The 42-year-old Isaacman, who founded the payment-processing company Shift4, attended the Aviation Challenge program when he was 12. That experience helped inspire him to become a pilot, according to Space & Rocket Center officials.

The Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex is named after the three-day SpaceX orbital mission that Isaacman funded and commanded in September 2021. Isaacman made a $10 million donation in 2022 to get the complex started, and the new gift will fund mission operations for Space Camp and activities for Space Camp Robotics and U.S. Cyber Camp students.

Those activities — which include simulated missions to the moon and Mars — are named after Polaris Dawn, Isaacman's second spaceflight. That five-day mission, which flew with SpaceX in September 2024, featured the first-ever private spacewalk.

"The Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex and the Polaris Dawn mission activities will transform Space Camp," Space Camp Vice President Robin Soprano said in an emailed statement. "Through this extraordinary investment, we are building cutting-edge experiences to take our programs and our students into the future."

The Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex is expected to open in time for the 2026 summer camp season, Space & Rocket Center officials said in the statement. More funding will be needed before construction on the fourth Space Camp dorm can begin, they added.

President Donald Trump announced in December 2024 that Isaacman was his choice for NASA administrator. Isaacman sailed through the nomination process and was set to be confirmed in early June.

But on May 31, Trump withdrew the nomination, later explaining that he did so after learning about Isaacman's contributions to Democratic politicians. Isaacman has stressed that he has donated to politicians of both parties over the years, and that he disclosed these contributions early in the nomination process.

Isaacman may not be done with politics; he said recently that he's considering running for office as a Republican.

"Honestly, I am not sure where I land," he said in an X post on Thursday morning (July 10). "I am enjoying my first break from professional obligations since I was 16. I love space exploration and the necessary goal of making life multiplanetary and pursuing the secrets of the universe. At the same time, we won't get where we need to be or serve the interests of the American people if those with the ability to help are deterred by the ugliness of politics. I don't need money. I don't need power and I don't need to humor those defending the status quo at the expense of America's competitiveness.

"I can just help for all the right reasons."