Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman made history Thursday by stepping out of a SpaceX capsule hundreds of miles above Earth, performing the first-ever private spacewalk. What was once the domain of professional astronauts is now inching toward the private sector, with this latest achievement serving as a preview of what might become routine for future space tourists.
Jared Isaacman, the 41-year-old founder of Shift4 Payments, isn’t new to pushing boundaries. He’s made a name for himself by championing private space travel, but this mission, dubbed Polaris Dawn, took things to an entirely new level.
Teaming up with SpaceX, Isaacman ventured outside his spacecraft, testing a brand-new spacesuit developed by Elon Musk’s company. This marks an essential step forward for the space tourism industry, as these suits are part of SpaceX’s broader vision to enable humans to live on Mars and other planets.
To give some perspective: up until now, spacewalks have only been conducted by trained astronauts from just 12 countries.
Isaacman now joins this exclusive group, making him part of a new elite that blurs the lines between professional and private astronauts.
Isaacman’s spacewalk wasn’t like the grueling multi-hour marathons that we often hear about from NASA’s astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This particular walk lasted less than two hours. By comparison, ISS spacewalks can stretch on for 7-8 hours, as astronauts travel across the station, lugging around heavy gear to perform essential repairs or upgrades.
Instead, Isaacman’s walk was more about testing the waters—or space, rather. He ventured out briefly, always keeping a hand or foot tethered to the spacecraft while moving his arms and legs to evaluate how well the new spacesuit worked in the harsh vacuum of space.
His silhouette was caught on camera as the capsule soared above the South Pacific, showing him waist-high at the hatch with Earth’s blue curve visible beneath him.
His fellow crew member, SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, took her turn next, bobbing up and down in zero gravity, testing her movements in much the same way.
While both Isaacman and Gillis had 12-foot tethers, neither fully extended them, adding a safety measure to the already high-risk operation.
This operation was meticulously planned down to the minute, with no room for error.
One wrong move in spacewalks can be catastrophic, and testing brand-new spacesuits on a spacecraft not previously used for spacewalks was a significant risk.
Spacewalking isn’t just about floating around and enjoying the view. It’s dangerous—right up there with the risks of launching into space and reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
The vacuum of space is unforgiving, and even the smallest malfunction can lead to life-threatening situations.
For Isaacman’s mission, everything was designed to be as safe as possible, but there were a couple of hiccups along the way.
For example, Isaacman had to manually pull open the hatch instead of relying on an automatic button, and Gillis noticed bulging in the hatch seal. Both were small glitches that didn’t derail the mission but served as a reminder that space is still an unpredictable environment.
Isaacman and his team, including Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a former Air Force pilot, and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon, spent months in rigorous training to prepare for these challenges.
Training included everything from operating new equipment to practicing the spacewalks in simulations that mimic the zero-gravity environment.
The significance of the spacewalk for space tourism
While the mission itself was a major leap forward for private spaceflight, it’s also part of a broader trend. Increasingly, wealthy private citizens are signing up for trips to space, paying enormous sums for just a few minutes of weightlessness.
Some spend tens of millions to stay in space for days or even weeks aboard private missions. Isaacman himself has become something of a spaceflight ambassador, having already funded SpaceX’s inaugural private flight in 2021.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the mission, calling it “a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry.” And he’s not wrong.
This spacewalk could signal the dawn of an era where space isn’t just for government-trained astronauts anymore. It may become a place for private citizens—who have the money and guts—to explore new frontiers.
But there’s more to it than just thrill-seeking. Spacewalking is one of the most dangerous aspects of space travel, yet it’s also one of the most profound.
Seeing Earth from above, feeling the weightlessness of space, and facing the reality of our planet’s fragility leaves many astronauts, or in this case, private spacewalkers, forever changed.
As Isaacman himself said from the hatch, “Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world.”
The Polaris Dawn mission is just the first of three flights in Isaacman’s Polaris program, aimed at expanding humanity’s reach in space.
While the price tag remains undisclosed, it’s clear that Isaacman is deeply invested—both financially and emotionally—in pushing the limits of what’s possible.
For now, he’s keeping the details of future missions under wraps, but given the success of this spacewalk, expectations are high.
Until Thursday, only 263 people had ever completed a spacewalk since 1965, when Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first to do so, followed shortly by NASA’s Ed White.
Now, with Isaacman and Gillis joining that small group, it seems that the future of space exploration is opening up—slowly but surely—to more than just a handful of nations.
What’s Next for Commercial Space Exploration?
As space tourism grows, so too will the appetite for these kinds of daring feats.
Research suggests that space tourism could become a billion-dollar industry within the next decade, with more companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic pushing the envelope.
Isaacman’s spacewalk may be the first, but it certainly won’t be the last.
The dream of settling other planets, particularly Mars, is what drives much of this development. Each mission and spacewalk serves as a building block toward that far-off goal.
Testing new suits, developing more advanced spacecraft, and venturing further into space are all part of a larger vision shared by Elon Musk and others in the space community.
The real question isn’t if space tourism will grow—it’s how fast and how far it will go. Isaacman’s feat on Thursday brought us one step closer to that future.
While there are risks, there’s also immense potential, and as Isaacman and his team demonstrated, with careful planning and the right technology, we can keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space.
Who knows? The next person to step out of a spacecraft might be one of us.
