Tech mogul Jared Isaacman made history by becoming the first civilian to conduct a spacewalk early Thursday morning, marking another significant achievement in private space exploration.
The 41-year-old billionaire, who is also the CEO of Shift4, emerged from SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule tethered to the craft. The stunning footage shows Isaacman facing the vast emptiness of space just before 7 a.m.
His view of Earth from the edge of the cosmos prompted him to remark, "Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world," as reported by the New York Post.
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Isaacman's 15-minute stint outside the capsule was followed by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, who repeated the same process. They were set to be joined by Anna Menon, another SpaceX engineer, and former Air Force pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet.
The entire event was broadcast live on SpaceX's website, allowing viewers to witness this milestone in space tourism. The spacewalk itself was planned to last roughly 30 minutes, but the crew took two hours in total to prepare and finish safely.
Before stepping out, Isaacman and his crew waited patiently inside the capsule, which had to be fully depressurized. While SpaceX initially delayed the spacewalk by several hours with no immediate explanation, the company reassured followers via X (formerly Twitter) that "all systems are looking good."
This adventure is part of a five-day mission Isaacman and his crew embarked on Tuesday when they blasted into orbit. One of the key factors ensuring the crew's safety was the brand-new SpaceX spacesuits, which Isaacman himself helped design.
These suits were crucial, as the Crew Dragon capsule doesn't have a pressurized airlock, meaning everyone on board had to wear the suits to survive the vacuum of space.
Though Isaacman was tethered throughout the spacewalk, he stayed as safe as possible, keeping at least one hand or foot on the spacecraft. Unlike NASA's spacesuits, which have jetpacks for untethered maneuvering, the SpaceX suits do not offer such capabilities, making safety measures more critical.
This journey set a new record, as Isaacman and his crew reached a staggering 870 miles above the Earth, surpassing the International Space Station and breaking the record for distance set by NASA's Project Gemini in 1966. Only astronauts from the Apollo missions have traveled farther.
This trip is just the first of three Isaacman purchased from Elon Musk back in 2022. Isaacman, who hasn't disclosed the cost of these missions, was also a part of SpaceX's inaugural space tourism flight in 2021, where he became the first space tourist to orbit Earth without a professional astronaut aboard.