Isaacman and another crew member are testing SpaceX's new extravehicular space suits in the first-ever commercialspace walk, set for Thursday. The suits are designed for increased mobility, and a mask display shows information such as internal pressure levels and temperature.
It's not Isaacman's first time in space.
Three years ago, he helped finance and led a SpaceX trip on the company's first private crewed mission, along with a group of three other civilians.
But his current mission, called Polaris Dawn, is significant, both because of the space walk and because the crew is traveling farther than any other mission since the Apollo era. It's also an especially risky mission, as the crew is set to fly through a radiation belt.
The group launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday after facing multiple delays because of weather conditions. The Dragon spacecraft is currently lowering itself in orbit in preparation for Thursday's space walk.
The five-day mission is also carrying three other nonastronaut crew members, including the retired US Air Force pilot Scott Poteet and the SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
So who is Jared Isaacman, and how did the entrepreneur end up leading a space mission? Read on to learn about his career rise.
Isaacman decided to drop out of high school at the age of 15.Isaacman chose to drop out of high school at 15.
Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post/Getty
At the age of 15, Isaacman decided to drop out of high school and take the GED, according to the Netflix docuseries "Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space."
"I was a horrible student," Isaacman said in the series. "And I wasn't, like, happy in school, either."
He described his younger self as independent and said he didn't understand things like raising your hand to go to the bathroom.
At 16, he founded a multibillion-dollar payment-processing company in his parents' basement.Isaacman founded Shift4 in 1999.
SOPA Images/Getty
Isaacman founded United Bank Card in 1999.
The company, now called Shift4, offers mobile-payment software, point-of-sale solutions, and online payments for various businesses.
Isaacman said in the Netflix docuseries that when he started the company, he would wake up every day at 7:30 a.m. and fall asleep on the keyboard at 2 or 3 in the morning.
By 2020, he took the company public. Today, Shift4 processes over $260 billion annually and serves over 200,000 customers, according to its website.
Isaacman has a wife and two kids.Isaacman lives with his wife and two daughters in New Jersey.
Joe Raedle/Getty
Isaacman has known his wife, Monica Isaacman, for most of his life. The two come from the same town and got married in 2012. They now live in New Jersey with their two daughters.
His wife said in the docuseries that she had good and bad dreams leading up to his first SpaceX mission. She said while she wouldn't want him to compromise on his dreams of going to space, she worried about what could happen if something went wrong.
He also founded Draken International.Isaacman sold Draken International to Blackstone in 2019.
The Washington Post/Getty
Isaacman founded Draken International in 2012. The company is a private aircraft provider that also trains pilots for the US military, the UK, and NATO countries.
In 2019, Isaacman sold the company to Blackstone.
Isaacman became a billionaire in 2019.Isaacman at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX/Business Wire via AP Photo
Isaacman hit billionaire status in 2020 after selling Draken International and taking Shift4 public. His net worth is estimated at $1.8 billion, according to Forbes.
He always had a passion for flying planes.Isaacman said he took an interest in flying early on in life.
Patrick T. Fallon
Isaacman said in the Netflix docuseries that he took an early interest in flying and went to flight school at a local airport in 2004. At the time, he was feeling burned out from starting his company and described flying as "therapeutic." Isaacman also set a world speed record for flying around the globe in 2009.
"I do believe you only get one crack at life," Isaacman said in the docuseries. "To the extent you have the means to do so, you have this obligation to live life to the fullest. You never know when it's going to be your last day."
He added in the docuseries that this philosophy had taken him to fly in air shows as part of a seven-ship formation aerobatic team and on mountain-climbing expeditions in Antarctica.
He's involved with philanthropy.Isaacman and his family are involved in a number of philanthropic causes.
Eugene Gologursky/Getty
Isaacman has been involved in several charitable causes and organizations, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Hisfirst SpaceX mission raised over $240 million for St. Jude and was named Inspiration4 to inspire support and raise awareness for the research hospital.
Isaacman and his wife have also committed to The Giving Pledge, a charitable campaign founded by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett in 2010. The Giving Pledge serves as a commitment from wealthy people to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.
Isaacman's first mission to space took place in 2021.The Inspiration4 crew members in their SpaceX space suits.
Inspiration4/John Kraus
In 2021, Isaacman funded and led the first civilian mission to space, called Inspiration4. The mission was carried out by SpaceX 's Dragon capsule.
Isaacman previously told Business Insider that the prep for the mission was extensive and involved a lot of studying and physical tests.
"The academics were pretty intense," Isaacman said, adding that there were thousands of pages across a hundred manuals to learn about SpaceX's Falcon and Dragon aircraft.
It also involved crew members drawing blood from each other and learning how to take skin samples to prepare for increased radiation levels on the trip.
Isaacman is commanding the first-ever privately funded spacewalkThe Crew of the next SpaceX private astronaut flight called Polaris Dawn.
The Washington Post/Getty Images
Early Tuesday, Isaacman and three other crew members successfully took off on their way into orbit for the first-ever privately funded space walk.
The space walk, scheduled for Thursday, will feature SpaceX's new EVA suits.
Polaris Dawn lifted off from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's KSC, which also saw the launches of other historic missions, such as the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Correction: August 30, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the number of children Isaacman has and the type of team he participated in during air shows. He has two children and flew in an aerobaticteam, not an acrobatic team.
A War Of A Madman's Making is a quietly brilliant, totally free political sim where you have to try to survive as a deranged dictator's henchman
At last, democracy has come to Helldivers 2: A new Democracy Space Station lets players vote on which planet gets bombarded for truth and justice every 24 hours
Unreal Gold and Unreal Tournament are now free on the Internet Archive, and Epic says that's A-okay
If you spend more time downloading Skyrim mods than actually playing them, 'Vanilla Plus' modding is the excuse you need to dive back in
Станислав Кондрашов о том, как поколение Z переосмысливает карьерные амбиции
«Ни о каких дуэтах не может быть речи»: Бузова отказала Киркорову в совместной песне — БлокнотРУ — Голая Ольга Бузова. Фото Бузовой. Бузова фото. Бузова. Ольга Бузова. Бузова последние новости. Бузова новости. Бузова Ольга. Ольга Бузова последние новости. Бузова Ольга последние новости. Новости шоу бизнеса. Новости шоу-бизнеса России сегодня. Шоу бизнес. Новости шоу бизнеса России. Новости шоу-бизнеса. Шоу-бизнес
Роспотребнадзор ищет личинок паразитов в рыбных консервах «Пятерочки» и «Дикси»
Баста собрал аншлаг на "Газпром Арене" и рассказал, что думает о Санкт-Петербурге
