First private space walk will take humans furthest from Earth since 1960s

A 41-year-old entrepreneur whose ventures include a large private air force will today become the first private citizen to walk in space. Jared Isaacman is one of four astronauts headed to a high orbit 1,400 kilometres above Earth to test a set of SpaceX spacesuits. Their spacecraft, which blasted off on Tuesday, will have to be fully depressurised for the two-hour walk, because its main hatch will be open to the cosmos without an air lock. So all four crew will have to be fully suited up whether venturing out or not, breathing via umbilical tubes connected to an expanded oxygen storage system. Isaacman, worth about $2 billion, is founder and CEO of a credit card company as well as training pilots for the US military at his privately-run base in Florida. This is the first of three trips to space he’s bought from Elon Musk, the SpaceX founder, for an undisclosed sum in 2022.