• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Thu, 12 Sep 2024 07:44 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Jared Isaacman News: American billionaire Jared Isaacman scripted history on Thursday by becoming the first person to perform a private spacewalk as part of SpaceX's comercially-funded Polaris Dawn mission. The space mission is being funded by the 41-year-old himself. A seasoned pilot, Isaacman is also the mission commander of 'Polaris Dawn'.

WHO IS BILLIONAIRE JARED ISAACMAN?

- Jared Isaacman is the CEO of payments processing firm Shift4 Payments. He founded the company in 1999. However, back then, the entity was known as United Bank Card. The company was renamed twice, with "Shift4 Payments" becoming its identity around 2020.

- 'Polaris Dawn' is Isaacman's second foray into space, following his leadership of the first all-civilian Inspiration4 mission to orbit Earth in 2021, organized and primarily funded by him in partnership with SpaceX.

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- Isaacman founded the US-based Draken International in 2012. The company provides tactical fighter aircraft for contract air services. It primarily serves military and defense industry customers. In 2019, Isaacman sold a majority stake in the firm to investment giant Blackstone.

- After Polaris Dawn, Isaacman has two more missions planned under the Polaris program - another flight on Crew Dragon followed by a flight on Starship, SpaceX's next-generation rocket under development. He has not announced crewmates or dates for those flights.

SPACEX POLARIS DAWN: HOW MUCH JARED ISAACMAN INVESTED?

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Jared Isaacnam has declined to disclose the total amount spent in funding the Polaris program. However, the figure is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He was joined by SpaceX senior engineer Sarah Gillis (30) in performing the historic spacewalk on Thursday. The duo performed the spacewalk as part of a mission to test the mobility of a new line of spacesuits developed by SpaceX.

(With inputs from Reuters)