Billionaire Jared Isaacman completes first-ever commercial spacewalk

On Thursday, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman achieved a historic milestone by participating in the first private spacewalk, in collaboration with SpaceX. Isaacman and his crew, who launched from Florida on Tuesday, ventured into space far beyond Earth's orbit, reaching approximately 460 miles (740 kilometers) above the planet. This distance was half what is typically used for such missions to accommodate the spacewalk.

After depressurizing the capsule, Isaacman became the first private individual to step outside. He joined an exclusive group of spacewalkers, a list previously reserved for professional astronauts from various countries. Isaacman expressed his awe at the view, saying, “Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world.”

The spacewalk was part of a five-day mission funded by Isaacman and SpaceX, focusing on testing new technology for future space exploration, including potential missions to Mars. The crew wore SpaceX’s newly designed spacesuits to protect them from the vacuum of space. The mission also tested how well the suits performed in the harsh conditions.

During the spacewalk, which lasted about two hours, Isaacman tested the suit’s flexibility by stretching and moving while secured with a hand or foot attached to the capsule. After 15 minutes, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis took over, performing similar movements while sending updates to Mission Control.

Unlike the routine spacewalks conducted at the International Space Station, where astronauts often float freely, Isaacman and Gillis stayed attached to the capsule and did not use their 12-foot tethers.

The mission, named Polaris Dawn, is part of Isaacman’s Polaris program, which aims to push the boundaries of private spaceflight. This spacewalk was meticulously planned, with the crew undergoing extensive training to manage the risks involved, including issues with the hatch and the new spacesuits.

Isaacman, the 41-year-old CEO of Shift4 Payments, has not disclosed the cost of the flight. His previous space venture in 2021, also with SpaceX, included contest winners and a cancer survivor. Until now, only 263 individuals from 12 countries had ever conducted a spacewalk since the first one in 1965 by Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov and NASA’s Ed White.

[Source: ABCnews.com, Sky News and SpaceX]