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A crew led by tech mogul Jared Isaacman returned to Earth early Sunday morning, concluding a groundbreaking five-day space expedition that took them farther from the planet than anyone has ventured since the Apollo missions. The SpaceX crew, consisting of Isaacman, two company engineers, and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot, splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida’s Dry Tortugas.
During their mission, the team achieved a major milestone by conducting the first-ever private spacewalk. Orbiting at nearly 460 miles above Earth—higher than both the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope—the crew reached an impressive altitude of 875 miles. This feat places Isaacman, the CEO of Shift4 Payments, among the elite group of only 264 people to have ever performed a spacewalk. SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis became the 265th, marking a new chapter in space exploration previously reserved for professional astronauts.
As their Dragon capsule bobbed in the waters, Isaacman communicated to Mission Control, noting the successful completion of their mission. Within an hour, the crew emerged from the spacecraft, visibly celebrating their achievement as they stepped onto the ship’s deck.
This mission also marked the first time SpaceX targeted a splashdown near the Dry Tortugas, a remote island cluster 70 miles west of Key West. Poor weather conditions had forced the company to shift the landing zone farther from their usual Florida coastline sites. In a playful nod to the new location, SpaceX employees brought a green turtle balloon to Mission Control, adding a touch of celebration to the historic landing.
The brief spacewalk, which took place on Thursday, involved Isaacman and Gillis testing SpaceX’s latest spacesuit technology. The Dragon capsule’s hatch remained open for just over 30 minutes as Isaacman emerged halfway, followed by Gillis, who performed some movement tests. In a lighter moment earlier in the week, Gillis, also a classically trained violinist, treated the crew to an impromptu musical performance while in orbit.
Although the spacewalk lasted under two hours, the mission represented a critical step in testing spacesuit technology for future, longer-duration missions—perhaps to Mars. The crew’s time in the vacuum of space was spent mostly on depressurizing and repressurizing the spacecraft, with two other members, Anna Menon and Scott “Kidd” Poteet, remaining suited up inside the capsule for safety.
This marked Isaacman’s second privately funded flight with SpaceX under his Polaris Program, a multi-mission initiative aimed at advancing space exploration. His first flight in 2021 raised over $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as he took along contest winners and a pediatric cancer survivor. Though the exact cost of the Polaris Dawn mission remains undisclosed, Isaacman shared expenses with SpaceX as they continue to push the boundaries of commercial space travel, with two more flights planned for the near future.
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