NASA chief: I'm only interested in "good deals" from international partners

Isaacman said this means NASA must make better decisions on when and how to work with international partners. Other nations have a place in NASA’s programs, but only if they can meaningfully contribute to the mission, he said. “I will tell you, though, and this is right from the top from the president of the United States: We’re only doing good deals, and we haven’t always done good deals,” Isaacman said. “There was absolutely a time where we were trying [to] make everyone happy. Let’s get a lot of flags together for a great press release, and it can [be], and absolutely has been, at times, a drag on the mission instead of accelerating it. You can’t do that, and we’ve changed that now, and as a result, good deals are happening.” NASA’s agreement with Italy, an ESA member state, was directly negotiated between the two countries outside the halls of ESA. The European Space Agency has 23 member states, which provide funding in three-year increments, offering a modicum of stability for ESA’s programs at the expense of agility. Italy’s commitment to build a habitation module and Japan’s contribution of a pressurized rover offer something new to NASA, which didn’t have contracts with US companies to do that work. Those are the kinds of partnerships Isaacman said he is looking for.