Jared Isaacman will lead the first-ever commercial spacewalk (Picture: AFP / Getty)
SpaceX is set to conduct the world’s first-ever privately-funded spacewalk today, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman.
The mission, known as Polaris Dawn, is the first of three funded by Isaacman, who made his fortune as founder of payments processing business Shift4.
Isaacman will act as commander of a team of four astronauts,which also includes retired air force pilot Scott ‘Kidd’ Poteet, and two SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis.
Today’s mission will not be the billionaire’s first time in space- Three years ago, he helped finance and lead SpaceX’s first private mission with a group of three other civilians.
But the upcoming mission is significant because the crew plans to travel further than any other expedition since the Apollo era.
The crew will face additional risks during the five-day mission as they fly through a radiation belt. They will be the first to field-test SpaceX’s new spacesuits, which are designed for increased mobility and feature a mask display which shows information like air supply, pressure levels and temperature.
So how did a billionaire financier become the head of one of the most significant space flights in years? Here’s the lowdown on Jared Isaacman.
Isaacman made his fortune as CEO of payment processor Shift4 (Picture: Reuters)
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Who is Jared Isaacman?
Born in New Jersey on February 11, 1983, Isaacman was an entrepreneur from a young age, dropping out of high school at age 15 after describing himself as a ‘horrible student’ who ‘wasn’t happy in school’.
He instead founded his first company, United Bank Card, in 1999 when he was just 16 years old while working part-time at a credit card terminal company.
The company, which later became Shift4 Payments, was created to provide payment processing services to businesses and quickly gained traction by offering better rates, transparent pricing, and more customer-friendly service than competitors.
It eventually became one of the largest payment processing firms in the U.S.
After growing his fortune, Isaacman later founded Draken International in 2012, which provides training for air force pilots for the US military, the UK, and NATO countries.
He became a billionaire in 2020 after selling Draken International to Blackstone and taking Shift4 public, and now has a net worth of around $1.9 billion, according to Forbes.
The Polaris Dawn crew will test SpaceX’s new commercial spacesuits (Picture: Polaris Program)
How did he become involved with SpaceX?
Isaacman has always harboured a passion for aviation, attending flight school in 2004 during a bout of burnout and eventually becoming an accomplished pilot.
After establishing himself as a renowned pilot and adventurer, having set world records for high-speed, around-the-world flights, Isaacman opened discussions with SpaceX in 2020 about launching an all-civilian spaceflight.
This collaboration culminated in Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth, launched by SpaceX in September 2021.
The mission was personally funded by Isaacman, and in addition to flying to space himself, he used the mission …read more
Source:: Metro
