Tech Billionaire Returns to Earth After Historic Spacewalk

Billionaire space traveler Jared Isaacman and his crew completed a five-day journey, surpassing previous altitudes reached since NASA's lunar landings. SpaceX’s capsule splashed down successfully in the Gulf of Mexico, near Florida’s Dry Tortugas, during the early morning hours. The team included Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers, and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.

The spacecraft reached a maximum altitude of 875 miles (1,408 kilometers) following its launch on Tuesday, surpassing the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. Isaacman became the 264th individual to perform a spacewalk, while SpaceX’s Sarah Gillis became the 265th. Traditionally, all spacewalks were conducted by professional astronauts. "We have completed our mission," Isaacman stated as the capsule floated, awaiting recovery. Within an hour, all crew members emerged to celebrate onboard the recovery ship.

This mission represented SpaceX's first splashdown attempt near the Dry Tortugas, a cluster of islands 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Key West. To mark this new landing site, SpaceX staff presented a large green turtle balloon at the company’s Mission Control in Hawthorne, California. Due to two weeks of challenging weather forecasts, SpaceX opted for this alternative landing site instead of their typical location near the Florida coast.

During Thursday’s commercial spacewalk, the Dragon capsule’s hatch remained open for approximately half an hour. Isaacman exited to test SpaceX’s new spacesuit, shortly followed by Gillis. This trained violinist even performed an orchestral piece in orbit earlier that week.

Although the spacewalk lasted under two hours, this duration was considerably shorter than those at the International Space Station. Much of the time focused on the depressurizing and re-pressurizing processes of the capsule. Participants Anna Menon and Scott "Kidd" Poteet donned spacesuits even while remaining inside the capsule.

SpaceX regards this brief spacewalk as a preliminary test for its spacesuit technology, aimed at future extended missions to Mars.

This mission, known as Polaris Dawn, marks Isaacman’s second chartered flight with SpaceX. He has two additional missions planned under his private exploration program, Polaris. Isaacman's first flight in 2021 raised over USD 250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and included contest winners along with a pediatric cancer survivor. Although sharing mission costs with SpaceX for Polaris Dawn, the precise amount that Isaacman contributed has not been disclosed.

Earlier, SSP reported that travel may combat premature aging.