Tech billionaire pulls off first private spacewalk high above Earth

A tech billionaire performed the first private spacewalk hundreds of miles above Earth on Thursday, a high-risk endeavour reserved for professional astronauts – until now.

Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman teamed up with SpaceX to test the company’s brand new spacesuits on his chartered flight. The daring spacewalk also saw SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis going out once Isaacman was safely back inside.

This spacewalk was simple and quick – less than two hours – compared with the drawn-out affairs conducted by Nasa. Astronauts at the International Space Station often need to move across the sprawling complex for repairs, always travelling in pairs and lugging gear. Station spacewalks can last seven to eight hours.

Isaacman emerged first from the hatch, joining a small elite group of spacewalkers who until now had included only professional astronauts from a dozen countries.

“Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said as the capsule soared above the South Pacific. Cameras on board caught his silhouette, waist high at the hatch, with the blue Earth beneath.