Jared Isaacman says Earth 'looks perfect' as he completes first ever private spacewalk

The tech billionaire, 41, stepped out from the Crew Dragon spacecraft on Thursday, completing the SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk.

Rob Waugh and Chris Parsons
Updated ·5-min read

Watch: SpaceX Polaris Dawn: Billionaire Jared Isaacman becomes first person to take part in private spacewalk

US billionaire Jared Isaacman said Earth 'sure looks like a perfect world' as he completed the first private spacewalk and entered the vacuum of space.

The tech entrepreneur, 41, had launched into space on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the Polaris Dawn mission, in a bid to venture further than anyone since Nasa's Apollo Moon missions.

At lunchtime on Thursday, Commander Isaacman and SpaceX enginer Sarah Gillis stepped out of their Crew Dragon spacecraft to conduct mobility tests on their suits – causing huge cheers from crowds watching at the SpaceX California HQ as their video stream showed stunning views of Earth outside the open hatch.

After emerging from the Dragon spacecraft, Isaacman was recorded on the SpaceX video livestream saying: 'Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.'

Isaacman – who self-funded a previous orbit of Earth in 2021 – is among a crew of four who launched from Florida on Wednesday for the 'really risky' milestone mission, which conducted the first privately managed spacewalk (when astronauts leave a spacecraft). Spacewalks have only ever been performed by government astronauts until now.

The SpaceX crew fully open the hatch of the Dragon spacecraft, giving a stunning view of Earth. (Reuters)
The SpaceX crew fully open the hatch of the Dragon spacecraft, giving a stunning view of Earth. (Reuters)
The crew on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday morning, during preparations for the spacewalk. (Reuters)
The crew on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday morning, during preparations for the spacewalk. (Reuters)

The privately funded Polaris Dawn mission flew the highest Earth orbit ever at 870 miles – surpassing a record set in 1966 by Gemini 11. It explored Earth’s radiation belt and saw two astronauts ‘walk’ outside the craft.

The crew included Isaacman’s friend Scott Poteet, a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel, and SpaceX lead space operations engineers Gillis and Anna Menon. The crew trained for two years, and donned SpaceX’s spacesuits while venturing (tethered) out of the craft. The entire mission – including the spacewalk – is expected to last six days.

Isaacman, the CEO of electronic payment company Shift4, has funded the mission with sums thought to total hundreds of millions of dollars. He previously said of the mission: "Whatever risk associated with it, it is worth it. We have no idea what it could do to really change the trajectory of humankind… there has to be some first steps in this direction.”

Astronauts from left, mission specialist Anna Menon, pilot Scott Poteet, commander Jared Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis arrive at the Kennedy Space Center for an upcoming private human spaceflight mission at Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Mission specialist Anna Menon, pilot Scott Poteet, commander Jared Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis (AP)
Kennedy Space Center, USA. 27th Aug, 2024. Amazing views of a horizontal SpaceX Falcon 9 Polaris Dawn as SpaceX has fixed the helium leak. Rocket is now vertical again for a 3:38 AM EDT Wed. August 28th 2024 launch attempt from LC-39A Kennedy Space Center Brevard County Florida USA. (Photo by Scott Schilke/SipaUSA) Credit: Sipa US/Alamy Live News
SpaceX Falcon 9 Polaris Dawn on a launch attempt last month. (Sipa US/Alamy)

The extravehicular activity (EVA) saw two astronauts – Isaacman and Gillis – float outside the spacecraft.

Crew Dragon has no airlock, so its entire cabin was slowly depressurised ahead of the spacewalk, meaning all four astronauts tested out the new spacesuits.

Isaacman and Gillis then ‘walked’ outside the cabin. There was cheering and a huge round of applause from spectators and crew at SpaceX's California HQ as Isaacman emerged from the spacecraft, the Earth appearing in front of him.

Gillis also performed the same mobility tests and was applauded as her head popped out of the spacecraft. Once the crew were back inside, the hatch was closed, once again separating the Polaris Dawn crew from space.

Spacewalks are among the most dangerous activities astronauts undertake, due to space radiation and the risk of impacts from space debris or micrometeoroids.

Catherine Heymans, astronomer royal for Scotland, told the BBC on Thursday that it was a “really risky expedition”.

She explained: “It’s not something Nasa would do themselves, because they are sending these astronauts out into a very radiation-dense region of our solar system – a place called the Van Allen belt where there are zones of highly energetically charged particles that are dangerous for humans.“

Heymans added that the team were also using new spacesuits that had been built by Space X and were designed to be more flexible to enable improved mobility for the astronauts in space.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from Launch Pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, May 4, 2021. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from Launch Pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in May 2021. (Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

She said: “Any journey into space is risky. I’d love to see humans exploring the Solar System, but [the radiation] is incredibly dangerous. We’re protected here on Earth by our fantastic magnetic field and the further you get away from that protection the more dangerous it is for our health.”

Isaacman has previously said that the astronauts will be “surrounded by death”.

Only government astronauts from the US, former Soviet Union and Russia, the European Space Agency, Canada and China have conducted spacewalks.

Using US and Russian spacesuits, more than 270 spacewalks have been conducted outside the International Space Station since its inception in 2000.

Bill Gerstenmaier, a SpaceX vice president who was Nasa’s human spaceflight chief until 2020, said: "EVA is a risky adventure. But again, we did all the work to really get ready for this. We kind of built off of what Nasa's heritage was, but I think we've also extended Nasa's heritage a little bit further.”

The mission orbited through the Van Allen radiation belt (a region of charged particles around our planet) and aimed to conduct research to further understand the effects of spaceflight and radiation on human health.

The mission was a major first test of SpaceX's new astronaut spacesuits.

It marks the latest risky commercial milestone that Elon Musk's space company is looking to clinch on the billionaire's stated goal of building colonies on Mars.

Latest stories

  • Musk should only send one person to Mars to avoid contamination, says professor

    Elon Musk should only send one person to Mars to avoid contaminating the red planet, a leading scientist has said.

  • As Nasa sends probe to Jupiter, where are the likeliest places to find life in our Solar System?

    The Europa Clipper blasted off on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to investigate whether one of Jupiter's moons has the conditions to support life.

  • James Webb Telescope Captures Spectacular Images of “Inside-Out” Galaxy Being Born

    Different Kind of Galaxy As scientists continue learning more about how galaxies form, the James Webb Space Telescope is aiding their quest with new imagery of one being born "inside-out." Researchers from the University of Cambridge say that these images prove the existence of a type of galaxy that had previously been purely theoretical. Named […]

  • Euclid telescope reveals first ‘stunning’ piece of its map of the universe

    The ‘huge mosaic’ covers an area in the southern sky more than 500 times the area of the full moon, ESA said.

  • Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing?

    The sudden collapse of carbon sinks was not factored into climate models – and could rapidly accelerate global heating

  • Mysterious new frog species found to croak like ‘Star Trek’ special effects

    Frog calls sound similar to boatswain whistle and tricorder from Star Trek series, researchers say

  • Scientists around the world report millions of new discoveries every year − but this explosive research growth wasn’t what experts predicted

    Don’t be fooled by the image of a mad scientist isolated in his basement laboratory. Science is a collaborative endeavor, and international teams have contributed to a huge rise in scientific output.

  • Secret tomb containing remains of 12 skeletons discovered at Petra site in Jordan

    Archaeologists have discovered a secret tomb at the Treasury monument in Petra, Jordan - one of the Seven Wonders of the World. A long-buried tomb containing the remains of 12 ancient skeletons and grave offerings were found beneath the monument after research teams used remote sensing technology. The discovery comes more than two decades after similar tombs were found on the other side of the famous monument, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts more than a million visitors a year.

  • What to know about the Atlantic hurricane season that is far from over

    Record sea surface temperatures fueled by climate change in the Gulf of Mexico have led to the rapid intensification of Atlantic hurricanes

  • China showcases lunar reach as space powers meet without Russia

    MILAN (Reuters) -China unveiled a rock sample from the moon's far side to a space summit overshadowed by shifting political and commercial rivalries on Monday, with traditional space power Russia absent from the Milan gathering amid tensions with the West. The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) has been a venue since 1950 for scientists, engineers, companies and politicians of space-faring nations to discuss cooperation, even during the Cold War. At the latest edition in Milan, the China National Space Administration showcased a rock sample that its Chang’e 6 rover fetched from the moon’s far side - the first such exploit and widely seen as evidence of Beijing’s rising space-power status.

  • First section of Euclid space telescope’s map of the universe revealed

    Mosaic of 208 gigapixels covers 1% of what will be the final 3D map, which is expected to capture billions of galaxies

  • In Denmark, 50 well-preserved Viking Age skeletons have been unearthed, a rare discovery

    In a village in central Denmark, archeologists made a landmark discovery that could hold important clues to the Viking era: a burial ground, containing some 50 “exceptionally well-preserved” skeletons. “This is such an exciting find because we found these skeletons that are so very, very well preserved,” said archeologist Michael Borre Lundø, who led the six-month dig. The skeletons were preserved thanks to favorable soil chemistry, particularly chalk and high water levels, experts from Museum Odense said.

  • Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate

    Is there anywhere else in our solar system that could support life?If our solar system turns out to be home to two habitable worlds (Europa and Earth), "think of what that means when you extend that result to the billions and billions of other solar systems in this galaxy," said Niebur, the Europa Clipper program scientist.

  • The solution to Britain’s WFH problem? Make office life fashionable again

    “Stamped with an individual panache” was how, in 1970, the Architects’ Journal described the buildings of Richard Seifert & Partners, then one of London’s most successful architectural firms. Though it could not resist adding: “Like it or not.”

  • Scientists map the genome of Australian ‘punk’ fish that prefers to walk instead of swim

    Information ‘blueprint’ of the spotted handfish could aid monitoring, captive breeding and protection efforts, scientists say

  • Nobel economics prize awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson & James A Robinson

    The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences awarded to trio of economists

  • Christopher Columbus revealed to be Spanish and Jewish in new documentary

    The findings, revealed in a new documentary which aired this weekend on Spanish television, claim that the explorer hid his true identity to avoid religious persecution in Europe.View on euronews

  • Comet last seen by Neanderthals spotted above London skyline in 'once in a lifetime' sighting

    Comet C/2023 A3, nicknamed Tsuchinshan-Atlas, was spotted just after sunset on Saturday

  • CNN 10: The big stories of the day, explained in 10 minutes

    Today on CNN 10, we get an update from the Middle East where escalating attacks show little of slowing down. We also take a look at a bold new mission to explore an ice covered ocean world within our solar system. And we check on two furry good will ambassadors as they travel to the US, before finding out how much the biggest pumpkin in Europe weighs. All this and more on today’s CNN 10!

  • Electric seaweed fuels pursuit of algae power in Chile

    STORY: In the labs of the University of Santiago, scientists are exploring an unexpected source of energy: slimy, green seaweed.SOT: "Algae use light to oxidize water, and in the process, they release electrons.":: GFX:This Earth:: Santiago, ChileScientists in Chile are investigating ways to improve efficiency in electricity production.Their field is biophotovoltaics: an energy-generating technology that uses photosynthetic organisms like seaweed to convert light into electrical energy.Federico Tasca, a researcher and associate professor at the University of Santiago, explains:"The project consists of the development of biophotovoltaics panels. Now, what are biophotovoltaics panels? They are a way to transform electric energy through algae, where we are going to place this algae on electrodes. Algae use light to oxidize water, and in the process they release electrons. We collect these electrons in an electric circuit where we are precisely going to build potential difference."Similar projects have previously used microalgae, which are single-celled organisms.His team is taking a different approach."Macroalgae are more hardy, easier to work with, easier to harvest. So, that makes all the operations, behind the creation and construction of the biophotovoltaic panel, simpler."While the process is still far from being energy-efficient, Tasca notes that seaweed could be useful in situations where other alternatives aren't available."So, if there are no other solutions, it's a good system to feed energy to a light bulb, to light up some LEDs, for this it does work."Alejandra Moenne, head of the University of Santiago's marine biology department, also believes seaweed holds untapped potential."I have always said that algae or what is in the sea, in this case the photosynthetics found in the sea, like marine macroalgae, are like a treasure. It's as if there was a treasure buried at the sea. They're full of genes and molecules that we still don't know enough about."