A tech billionaire has become the first civilian to do a spacewalk, and shared a poignant message back to those on Earth while doing so.
Jared Isaacman, 41, was one of those on board SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on its current mission to space.
Isaacman came out of the capsule on a tether just before 7AM on Thursday (September 12) to view the Earth from space.
It is the furthest from Earth that a human being has traveled since the Apollo moon missions, over 50 years ago.
The spacewalk was finally able to progress after SpaceX initially delayed the planned start by a few hours.
No explanation has yet been given as to why it was suddenly delayed, however, SpaceX said via Twitter (now X) that "all systems are looking good."
After emerging from the capsule and into space, Isaacman shared a poignant message, saying: "Back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world."
After around 15 minutes outside, Isaacman was replaced by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, who was then slated to be followed by two other members of the crew - engineer Anna Menon and former Air Force Thunderbirds pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet.
The spacewalk itself was scheduled to last around 30 minutes, with the full procedure to prepare and finish safely expected to take around two hours, with the experience being live streamed by SpaceX.
Before the crew was allowed to open the hatch and leave the vessel, they were seen waiting inside for the capsule to be completely depressurized.
The crew left Earth on Tuesday for the mission, which is expected to last five days until they return.
Isaacman, who is the CEO and founder of the credit card processing company Shift4, had helped to design the new SpaceX suits he and the crew were wearing for the mission.
Officials had confirmed that Isaacman would be able to leave the capsule but remain tethered to it, keeping at least one hand or foot on it to ensure his safety.
At present, longer spacewalks which are untethered are only able to be done wearing NASA space suits, which are equipped with jet packs for astronauts to be able to propel themselves back to safety.
The Crew Dragon does not have a pressurized airlock, meaning that all of the crew were required to wear the new spacesuits to protect themselves from vacuum conditions while on the mission.
The spacewalk took place once the capsule reached a distance of almost 870 miles above Earth, far past the location of the International Space Station and surpassing the Earth-lapping record set by NASA's Project Gemini in 1966.
It is the first time a civilian has been able to achieve such a feat, which has previously only been completed by trained professional astronauts.
Only the 24 astronauts who were part of the Apollo mission who flew to the moon have been further into space.
This mission has marked a significant step in space tourism, and while for most it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Isaacman purchased three trips from SpaceX founder Elon Musk in 2022.
It is not known how much he paid for the trips, but he was also among the first group of space tourists who were taken up in 2021, with Isaacman setting a record by being the first space tourist to circle the Earth without having a professional astronaut on board.
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