A billionaire recently made history by conducting the first private spacewalk in conjunction with SpaceX. Jared Isaacman, a tech entrepreneur, along with his crew, embarked on this daring journey hundreds of miles above Earth. Isaacman became part of a select group of spacewalkers, a group previously only comprised of professional astronauts from various countries. The spacewalk was the focal point of a five-day mission funded by Isaacman and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, marking the culmination of extensive development efforts aimed at facilitating human settlement on Mars and other celestial bodies.
Donned in SpaceX’s latest spacewalking suits, all four members of the crew took precautions to safeguard themselves from the harsh conditions of outer space. Following their launch from Florida on Tuesday, they ventured farther from Earth than any individuals have since NASA’s moonwalks, orbiting at a distance of 460 miles (740 kilometers) for the spacewalk.
During the anticipated two-hour spacewalk, which was more about stretching than walking, Isaacman meticulously tested the new spacesuit’s functionality by flexing his limbs while ensuring constant contact with the spacecraft. Subsequently, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis was scheduled to replicate similar movements outside the capsule.
Although equipped with 12-foot tethers, the crew had no intentions of floating freely as astronauts typically do at the International Space Station during repairs due to the higher orbit of their mission. The emergence of space tourism has witnessed affluent individuals investing substantial amounts for brief experiences of weightlessness or even longer stays in space. The allure of spacewalking, considered one of the riskiest yet most exhilarating aspects of space travel, is expected to attract some of these individuals in the future.
The meticulous planning and execution of this operation left little room for error, especially considering the use of new spacesuits and the exposure of the entire capsule to the vacuum of space. Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon provided support from inside the craft, while all four crew members underwent rigorous training ahead of the mission.
Isaacman, a 41-year-old CEO and founder of Shift4, has not disclosed the exact amount invested in this venture, which is the first of three flights in his Polaris program, named Polaris Dawn. Previously, in 2021, he took contest winners and a cancer survivor on SpaceX’s inaugural private flight. Prior to Isaacman’s private spacewalk, only 263 individuals from 12 countries had participated in such activities, with the first spacewalk conducted by the Soviet Union’s Alexei Leonov in 1965, followed shortly by NASA’s Ed White.
