Elon Musk’s SpaceX Polaris Dawn: Billionaire Jared Isaacman and engineer complete historic spacewalk

A billionaire and an engineer have achieved a milestone by becoming the first non-professional crew to execute one of the most dangerous tasks in space – a spacewalk.

Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis exited the SpaceX spacecraft about 15 minutes apart, starting their walk at 11:52 BST, wearing custom-made suits designed for the mission.

"Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world," said Mr Isaacman as he made his way out.

The mission was privately funded by Mr Isaacman. Until now, only astronauts from government-backed space agencies had conducted spacewalks.

Live broadcasts captured the moment the two crew members emerged from the white Dragon capsule, floating 435 miles (700 km) above Earth’s surface.

Mr Isaacman was the first to exit, moving his limbs, hands, and feet to check his suit's functionality. After returning inside, Ms Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, stepped out next.

Both members provided commentary during their spacewalk, sharing insights about how their suits performed in the vacuum of space.

Initially set for 07:23 BST, the spacewalk was delayed early Thursday morning.

As the crew prepared to open the hatch, which lacked an airlock, or a barrier between the spacecraft’s interior and the vacuum outside, the anticipation and tension mounted.

The crew spent two days undergoing a “pre-breathing” process to prevent decompression sickness, commonly known as “the bends,” by replacing nitrogen in their bloodstream with oxygen to adapt to the pressure changes.

The spacecraft was depressurised to match the conditions of the vacuum outside.

Dr Simeon Barber, a research scientist at the Open University, noted that this type of spacewalk marked a “very different approach” compared to past spacewalks, such as those conducted from the International Space Station.

In recent years, astronauts typically used an airlock to isolate the spacecraft from the vacuum of space, but this SpaceX Dragon capsule was fully exposed to space.