Who is Jared Isaacman? Billionaire who stepped out of SpaceX capsule for first private spacewalk – Times of India

Two astronauts from a SpaceX capsule orbiting Earth conducted the first-ever private spacewalk on Thursday. Jared Isaacman, a 41-year-old billionaire, and Sarah Gillis, a 30-year-old SpaceX engineer, ventured outside the Crew Dragon spacecraft while tethered to it, as their two crewmates observed from within the capsule.
Isaacman was the first to exit the spacecraft at approximately 6.52 am ET (1052 GMT), followed by Gillis, making them the first non-government individuals to perform a spacewalk.The entire event was live-streamed on SpaceX’s website.
Upon emerging from the spacecraft, with Earth’s half-lit surface glimmering 700 km (434.9 miles) below, Isaacman remarked, ” said Isaacman after exiting the spacecraft.
Prior to the spacewalk, the Crew Dragon capsule underwent complete depressurization, and the crew relied solely on their lightweight, SpaceX-designed spacesuits for oxygen, which was supplied through an umbilical connection to the spacecraft.
Although the spacewalk itself was planned to last only about 30 minutes, the entire process, including preparation and safe completion, took one hour and 46 minutes. The spacewalk officially concluded around 8am ET.
It was the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) utilizing commercially developed equipment, innovative procedures, and the brand-new SpaceX EVA suit.

Who is Jared Isaacman?
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur, founded a payment processing company, Shift4 Payments, at the age of 16 in his parents’ basement in New Jersey. The company has grown to process over $260 billion annually, catering to prominent clients such as Hilton and KFC, according to Forbes.
Isaacman has also made significant contributions to the aviation industry. He set a record for the fastest flight around the world in a light jet, completing the journey in “61 hours, 51 minutes, and 15 seconds.” Additionally, he established Draken International, which boasts the largest private fleet of military jets and provides training to Air Force pilots.
Earlier, Isaacman’s space journey follows his 2021 Inspiration4 mission, the first all-civilian spaceflight.

The other crew members other than Isaacman on this mission are Scott Poteet, a former US Air Force lieutenant colonel, and two SpaceX team members: Anna Menon, a lead space operations engineer, and Sarah Gillis, an engineer in charge of astronaut training.
The mission aims to study how the human body reacts to deep space environments. These investigations will build upon decades of research conducted with government astronauts aboard the ISS.
Meanwhile, the main goal of the spacewalk is to assess the performance of SpaceX’s newly designed spacesuits. Created in-house by SpaceX, these suits are intended for use in a variety of missions, including those in Earth orbit and potentially beyond.
According to Euro News, the EVA spacesuits, specifically designed for this mission, are equipped with cameras and heads-up displays that provide astronauts with real-time information about their suit’s status while outside the vehicle. The report also mentioned that the suits incorporate “improved thermal management” to enhance the astronauts’ comfort and safety during the spacewalk.
“Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require thousands of spacesuits.The development of this suit, and the EVA performed on this mission, will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions,” Elon Musk’s SpaceX said in a post on X.
Sharing a video of one of the astronauts, SpaceX said, “Commander Jared Isaacman has egressed Dragon and is going through the first of three suit mobility tests that will test overall hand body control, vertical movement with Skywalker, and foot restraint.”
What is a spacewalk?
A spacewalk, also known as an extravehicular activity (EVA), occurs when an astronaut exits their spacecraft while in space.
“Any time an astronaut gets out of a vehicle while in space, it is called a spacewalk. A spacewalk is also called an EVA. EVA stands for extravehicular activity,” according to US space agency Nasa’s website.
Spacewalks serve various purposes, such as allowing astronauts to conduct scientific experiments outside their spacecraft. During these walks, they can attach experimental setups to the exterior of the vehicle and study the effects of the space environment on different materials and objects. Spacewalks also enable astronauts to test new equipment and perform maintenance tasks, including repairing satellites or their own spacecraft.
In the past, only government astronauts with extensive training have performed spacewalks. Since the creation of the International Space Station (ISS) in 2000, there have been approximately 270 spacewalks on the ISS, and Chinese astronauts have conducted 16 spacewalks on Beijing’s Tiangong space station.