Billionaire makes history by stepping out into space on the first ever private spacewalk

12 September 2024, 11:59 | Updated: 12 September 2024, 13:20

SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission has made history after the all-civilian crew carried out the first ever private spacewalk.

American billionaire Jared Isaacman was the first to exit the Dragon capsule at around 10.52 GMT on Thursday, entering the vacuum of space for the first time.

He has joined a small group of spacewalkers who, until now, have included only professional astronauts from a dozen countries.

A round of applause erupted in SpaceX HQ as the spacecraft hatch first opened.

In a live feed relayed back to Earth, Commander Isaacman could be heard saying: "Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world."

He then tested a number of manoeuvres in newly-designed spacesuits, which he has helped finance.

Read more: Astronauts hear strange 'pulsing sounds' from Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, sparking NASA investigation

Read more: Astronauts stuck in space 'will be stranded until 2025' meaning eight-day trip will take eight months

He then retreated back into the spacecraft so SpaceX employee Sarah Gillis could go out and repeat the manoeuvres.

In a reminder of the mission danger's, Ms Gillis was soon told to head back as she had only 5.9 minutes of oxygen supply remaining.

"Copy," she replied, remaining calm.

Once she had completed the tests, Ms Gillis went back inside and the hatch was closed, separating the Polaris Dawn crew from space.

Mission pilot Kidd Poteet and mission specialist and medical officer Anna Menon remained in the aircraft throughout to monitor vital support systems.

Tech entrepreneur Isaacman originally launched into space on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.   

He is sharing the cost with SpaceX, including the development and testing of the new spacesuits to see how they perform.

At a pre-flight news conference, Mr Isaacman - the chief executive and founder of credit card processing company Shift4 - refused to say how much he invested in the flight.

"Not a chance," the 41-year-old said.

He added: "We're really starting to push the frontiers with the private sector."

It is the first of three trips that Isaacman bought from Elon Musk two-and-a-half years ago, soon after returning from his first private SpaceX spaceflight in 2021.

He bankrolled that tourist ride for an undisclosed sum, taking along contest winners and a childhood cancer survivor. The trip raised hundreds of millions for the St Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Spacesuit development took longer than anticipated, delaying this first so-called Polaris Dawn flight until now.

Training was extensive, with Mr Poteet saying it rivalled anything he experienced during his Air Force flying career.

As SpaceX astronaut trainers, Ms Gillis and Ms Menon helped Isaacman and his previous team - as well as Nasa's professional crews - to prepare for their flights.

A record 19 astronauts are now in space after Russia's Soyuz MS-26 mission ferried two cosmonauts and a US astronaut to the International Space Station on Wednesday, taking its headcount to 12.

Three Chinese astronauts are at the Tiangong space station.