NASA Administrator Isaacman and Shuttle Veteran Precourt to Speak at 2026 NBAA-BACE
Why It MattersHeadline aerospace figures at NBAA-BACE underscore how business aviation events use high-profile speakers to position the industry alongside national space and aerospace priorities.
What happened
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and retired astronaut Charlie Precourt will speak at the 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, scheduled for October 20-22 in Las Vegas, as part of an invite-only event held prior to the main convention.
NBAA Interim COO Dan Hubbard said, "We are honored to welcome Jared Isaacman and Charlie Precourt to NBAA-BACE and look forward to their insights on the future of aviation and aerospace." Isaacman was nominated as NASA administrator in November 2025 and confirmed by the Senate in December 2025. He is a pilot with more than 8,000 flight hours, is flight-qualified in multiple military jets, has performed in over 100 airshows, and set several world speed records in 2009 while raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2021, he commanded Inspiration4, described as the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight, aboard the Dragon spacecraft; the three-day mission orbited Earth and raised over $250 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In 2024, he led the Polaris Dawn mission.
Precourt has served on NBAA's Board of Directors since 2019. A retired U.S. Air Force test pilot and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, he flew four space shuttle missions and accumulated more than 11,000 hours across over 90 aircraft types. He is a member of the Astronaut Hall of Fame and has held senior NASA roles including chief of the Astronaut Corps, deputy program manager for the International Space Station, and director of operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
Industry impact & what to watch
Trade conventions like NBAA-BACE routinely pair operational business-aviation content with high-visibility keynote speakers to draw attendance and signal relevance beyond the core charter, fractional and OEM audience. Pairing a sitting NASA administrator with a veteran astronaut reflects how business aviation events position themselves alongside broader aerospace and spaceflight narratives, even when the convention's core business is unrelated to orbital missions.
The invite-only session ahead of the main show is a common format for giving select attendees early access to headline speakers, separate from the general convention program running October 20-22. What remains to be seen is what specific content the two speakers will address once the event takes place, and whether NBAA discloses further program details before the Las Vegas convention opens.
