Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman steps out in space for first-ever private space walk with SpaceX

Footage of the daring stunt showed a billionaire popping out of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on a tether as he came face-to-face with the dark vacuum of space.

Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman became the first-ever civilian to start a space walk on Thursday — after already travelling the farthest from Earth a human being has gone since the Apollo moon missions.

Footage of the daring stunt showed Isaacman, 41, popping out of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on a tether as he came face-to-face with the dark vacuum of space just before 7am (EDT).

“Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said soon after emerging from the spacecraft with the planet glittering below him.

US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission.

After about 15 minutes outside, Isaacman was replaced by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis to go through the same motions. She was slated to be following by two other crew members: engineer Anna Menon and former Air Force Thunderbirds pilot, Scott “Kidd” Poteet.

Their manoeuvres were being streamed live on SpaceX’s website, the New York Post reports.

The space walk was scheduled to last roughly 30 minutes, but the procedures to prepare for it and to finish it safely were expected to last about two hours.

Prior to popping open the hatch and emerging, Isaacman and his three crew members were spotted waiting inside until the capsule was completely depressurised.

A billionaire has stepped out for the first private space walk. Picture: SpaceX

It comes after SpaceX suddenly delayed the planned start of the space walk by a few hours. No explanation was immediately given for the delay, but the company said via X that “all systems are looking good.”

Isaacman and his three crew members began preparing for the endeavour soon after blasting into orbit on Tuesday for a five-day flight.

They were kept safe during the two-hour mission thanks to the new SpaceX suits he helped design.

Officials had said Isaacman, the billionaire CEO and founder of the credit card processing company Shift4, would remain tethered and keep at least one hand or foot on the craft to ensure his safety.

A longer, untethered space walk was not possible because only NASA suits are currently equipped with jetpacks that can guide an astronaut back to safety.

Because the Crew Dragon does not have a pressurised airlock, all the crew members needed to wear the new spacesuits to protect them from the vacuum conditions during the mission.

Isaacman was joined on the mission by SpaceX engineers Sarah Gills and Anna Menon, as well as former Air Force Thunderbirds pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet.

A billionaire has stepped out for the first private space walk. Picture: SpaceX

Gills was scheduled to join Isaacman on the space walk, which previously has been the exclusive domain of professional astronauts.

The space walk took place after Isaacman and the crew reached a distance of nearly 870 miles above the Earth, well beyond the International Space Station and surpassing the Earth-lapping record set during NASA’s Project Gemini in 1966.

Only the 24 Apollo mission astronauts who flew to the moon have ventured farther into space.

While the trip would normally be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it is just the first of three trips Isaacman purchased from Elon Musk in 2022.

Isaacman, who has not publicly stated how much his SpaceX trips cost, was among the first group of tourists who flew to space in 2021.

During that trip, Isaacman set a record by being the first space tourist to circle the Earth without having a professional astronaut aboard.

This article appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.

Originally published as Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman steps out in space for first-ever private space walk with SpaceX