Aviation Outlook Welcomes Jared Isaacman, Commander of the Inspiration4 Space Mission

Jared Isaacman is the 37-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, which provides technology solutions for more than 200,000 businesses while securely processing over $200 billion in annual payments volume. Isaacman, considered one of the industry’s most influential business leaders, started the company in 1999 from the basement of his family’s home when he was 16 years old.

Isaacman also co-founded Draken International, which owns and operates the world’s largest commercial fleet of ex-military aircraft to support military training objectives around the globe. He is rated to fly commercial and military aircraft and also holds several world records, including a Speed-Around-The-World flight to raise money and awareness for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

To top off Isaacman’s amazing life story, later this year he will be mission commander of Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space. The four person crew will launch from Kennedy Space Center in a SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket for a multi-day journey in low Earth orbit and conduct experiments designed to expand our knowledge of the universe. The mission is named in recognition of the four-person crew that will raise awareness and funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“In fulfilling a personal and lifelong dream, I recognize the tremendous responsibility that comes with commanding this mission,” said Isaacman. “While a historic journey awaits us in space, I hope this mission reinforces how far inspiration can take us and the extraordinary achievements it leads to here on Earth.”