Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman made history on Thursday as the first civilian to conduct a private spacewalk. This milestone comes after Isaacman and his crew traveled farther from Earth than any astronaut since the Apollo missions.
In dramatic footage, the 41-year-old Isaacman emerged from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and faced the vast, dark expanse of space shortly before 7 a.m. "Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world," Isaacman remarked as he floated above the planet.
The spacewalk was initially delayed by SpaceX, but the company later confirmed that “all systems are looking good” despite not providing a specific reason for the postponement. Isaacman, who was accompanied by SpaceX engineers Sarah Gills and Anna Menon, along with former Air Force Thunderbirds pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, was well-prepared thanks to the new SpaceX suits he helped design.
Isaacman’s mission, part of SpaceX's Polaris Program, began with the launch of the Polaris Dawn on Tuesday, marking a five-day journey that took them nearly 870 miles above Earth—beyond the International Space Station and surpassing the distance record set by NASA’s Project Gemini in 1966.
Although Isaacman was tethered to the Crew Dragon capsule for safety reasons—since only NASA suits are equipped with jetpacks for untethered spacewalks—the mission represented a significant leap in private space exploration. Isaacman’s endeavors include funding three SpaceX trips, reflecting his deep investment in advancing human spaceflight.
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