Jared Isaacman, entrepreneur and billionaire, will perform a spacewalk on Thursday as part of the Polaris Dawn mission operated by Space X. A historic first for a civilian, who had already had the opportunity to take a trip in 2021 in an Elon Musk. shuttle.
A pronounced taste for adventure and risk. Polaris Dawn crew members will perform the first private spacewalk in history on Thursday, September 12. Jared Isaacman, a wealthy businessman, will be accompanied by Sarah Gillis, an engineer from SpaceX.
The contractor, who did not undergo the drastic training required of astronauts, will perform a two-hour exit into the vacuum of space, while their shuttle – the Falcon 9 model – circles the Earth at an altitude of 700 kilometers. According to the website Space.comthis is the highest altitude since the Apollo missions.
Initiator of the Polaris Dawn mission
41-year-old Jared Isaacman is none other than the billionaire behind the Polaris Dawn space mission. American businessman made his fortune in high technology and fighter jets, details BFMTV. He notably founded the company Shift4.
The businessman financed this private trip, as well as the spacesuits that will be used in the extravehicular exit on Thursday. However, it is hard to know the cost of the mission as he has refused to publicly disclose how much it cost.
The second space trip
He is also an aeronautics enthusiast. In 2021, Jared Isaacman had already been in space aboard another Space X mission called Inspiration 4. This previous mission was the first flight made entirely by civilians. But also the first to be fully financed by private funds.
Airline pilot since 2009
The Arizona man is not his first attempted robbery. In 2004, he started taking flying lessons. Since then, he has gained over 6,000 hours of experience flying high-performance aircraft.
In case you're interested, here's a cockpit view from a recent flight. As a crew, we use opportunities like this to stay alert while we wait for the weather window. Hopefully we can start the main show soon \ud83d\ude80 pic.twitter.com/TmjtcHuuR0
— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) September 8, 2024
A certain taste for risk
Spacewalks are considered among the most dangerous due to the sheer number of risks involved in the vacuum. During the outing, Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis will be attached to 12-foot cables, but they won't be able to hang in the air: so they'll have to keep a foot or hand on the capsule or ladder at all times. -fit support, he explains Lapresse.ca.
The two will take turns exiting the hatch. Each will spend between 15 and 20 minutes outside, time to enjoy the view and test the combinations created for the occasion. Their teammates — SpaceX engineer Anna Menon and former Air Force Thunderbird pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet — will monitor proceedings inside the capsule.