SpaceX Capsule Carrying American Billionaire Returns to Earth

The first private astronaut to successfully step outside a capsule in space returned to Earth after a five-day journey. The SpaceX capsule carrying Jared Isaacman, a pilot, and two SpaceX flight engineers splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near the Dry Tortugas National Park just before dawn local time on September 16. Jared Isaacman exited the spacecraft while it was in an orbit 740 kilometers above Earth, higher than the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope, thus becoming the 264th human to walk in interplanetary space, a feat first accomplished in 1965 by astronauts from the former Soviet Union. This marks a new and historic day for human presence in space. Notably, all 263 others who had previously walked in space were professional astronauts. Last Thursday, the Dragon capsule's hatch was opened for about half an hour. Initially, Isaacman, wearing a new SpaceX spacesuit, emerged waist-deep from the hatch. Following him, Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX flight engineer, exited the spacecraft to her knees and tested the functionality of the new suit by moving her arms and legs for several minutes. This spacewalk lasted less than two hours, significantly shorter than those conducted at the International Space Station, with most of the time spent on depressurizing the capsule and then restoring it to normal pressure. SpaceX considers this short test as a preliminary step for further testing of the new spacesuit, aimed at future long-duration missions, including trips to Mars. This was Isaacman's second spaceflight with SpaceX, and under a contract with the company, he will undertake two more flights as part of a program called 'Polaris,' which he is personally funding. He first traveled to space three years ago. The SpaceX spacecraft, which launched into space last Tuesday, reached an altitude of 1,408 kilometers before returning to Earth.