Tech Billionaire Returns To Earth After First Private Spacewalk

A billionaire spacewalker returned to Earth with his crew on Sunday, concluding a five-day mission that took them higher than anyone has traveled since NASA's moon missions, Marcia Dunn reported for the Associated Press (AP).

SpaceX's capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers, and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot. I Photo: SpaceX X

SpaceX's capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers, and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.

During the mission, they completed the first private spacewalk, orbiting nearly 460 miles (740 kilometers) above Earth—higher than both the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The spacecraft reached a peak altitude of 875 miles (1,408 kilometers) following its liftoff on Tuesday.

Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the Soviet Union's first in 1965, while SpaceX's Sarah Gillis became the 265th. Until now, only professional astronauts have performed spacewalks.

"We are mission complete," Isaacman radioed after the capsule splashed down, awaiting recovery. Within an hour, all four crew members emerged onto the ship’s deck, joyfully pumping their fists.