Pilot makes first private spacewalk
Philanthropist Jared Isaacman notches new space superlative
Entrepreneur and pilot Jared Isaacman—who previously led the first all-civilian crew to reach orbit—notched another milestone high above Earth on September 12, when he became the first civilian to walk in space.
The moment of truth arrived just under two hours into a livestream broadcast by SpaceX, which launched four astronauts (including Isaacman, the mission commander; pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet; and SpaceX mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon) into orbit on September 10.
"SpaceX, back at home we have a lot of work to do, but from here it looks like a perfect world," Isaacman said.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur financed the Polaris Dawn mission, along with SpaceX, which put the new spacesuits to their first operational test in the vacuum of space. Isaacman’s latest extraterrestrial exploit was preceded days before by another superlative, when the capsule climbed to 870 miles above sea level, higher than any human has flown since NASA’s Apollo program sent the first humans to the moon, according to Space.com.
In 2021, Isaacman led another SpaceX flight that carried the first four civilian astronauts to orbit. He has logged far more hours in aircraft than spacecraft, though that gap may be closing somewhat. Isaacman recalled his aviation career in a 2021 interview, prior to his previous historic spaceflight.
Inspiration4, as that 2021 orbital mission was known, also raised donations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and included a member of the hospital’s staff among the crew.
In 2008, four years after his first solo in a Cessna 182T, Isaacman attempted a circumnavigation speed record in a Cessna Citation Mustang that was foiled when he was denied permission to overfly or land in India. Despite landing about one hour short of the record, he raised $50,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey.
On September 12, Isaacman spent about 15 minutes outside the capsule, though still secured to the craft, followed by Gillis, who had a 10-minute stint, each holding handrails for extra support (in addition to being secured by other means). The hatch was closed at 7:14 a.m. Eastern time, and the cabin was repressurized. Their exploits were covered at length in Isaacman’s hometown press within hours. SpaceX reported that the entire spacewalk operation lasted one hour and 46 minutes. It officially began at 6:12 a.m., and ended at 7:58 a.m. Eastern time.
"Whew! Smell that? Space," Isaacman said as air flowed into the cabin. "Nice job for everyone at SpaceX who made it possible."
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