Meet Jared Isaacman: the man who bought the first crewed flight on SpaceX’s Starship

Why is the American billionaire spending a fortune on rides to space?

Jared "Rook" Isaacman, Polaris Dawn Mission Commander. Photo: Polaris Program / John Kraus

The all-amateur crew of SpaceX Inspiration4 embark on an historic mission. Reuters

They have lift off in Cape Canaveral, Florida. AP Photo

Inspiration4 crew members Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux are all smiles before the flight. Reuters

The moment the rocket blasts off from Kennedy Space Centre's Launch Pad 39-A in Cape Canaveral. AP Photo

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket prepares to launch from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. AFP

The Inspiration4 mission, the first to send an all-civilian crew to orbit, will venture deeper into space than the International Space Station. AFP

The SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off with four private citizens onboard. AP Photo

The crew will spend three days orbiting the Earth before splashing back down off the coast of Florida. Reuters

'The Inspiration4 launch reminds us of what can be accomplished when we partner with private industry,' tweeted Nasa administrator Bill Nelson before the launch. Reuters

The Inspiration4 mission is being financed and led by Jared Isaacman, 38, the founder of Shift4 Payments. AFP

Mr Isaacman is the latest billionaire entrepreneur to set his sights on the stars, after Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos both blasted into space this summer. AFP

Mr Isaacman hopes to outdo other space tourism pioneers with an even more ambitious mission. AFP

The SpaceX webcast livestreamed what pilot Sian Proctor could see as the rocket headed for the stars. AFP

Inspiration4 crew on their first day in space. Reuters

First day at the office. Inspiration4 crew Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski in zero gravity. Reuters

The citizen astronauts splash down safely in SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule off Florida. Reuters

A SpaceX capsule carrying four people is lifted from the Atlantic Ocean on to a recovery vessel. AP

Jared Isaacman emerges from the capsule after it was recovered following its splashdown. AP

Chris Sembroski celebrates their return to Earth. AP

Sian Proctor sets foot on Earth for the first time after completing the mission. AP

Next amateur astronaut out is Hayley Arceneaux. AP

The crew was the first to circle the Earth without a professional astronaut. AP

Sarwat Nasir

American billionaire Jared Isaacman is taking the commercial space industry to new heights.

The 39 year old has already been to space, when he bought an entire passenger flight from Elon Musk's SpaceX as part of the Inspiration4 mission, which orbited Earth for three days.

Now, he has bought three more flights from SpaceX under his new Polaris programme, with the first one scheduled for launch later this year, for an undisclosed sum.

(L-R) Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman with the Polaris Dawn crew, Anna Menon, Sarah Gillis and Scott Poteet. AP

The Crew Dragon flight aims to set new records, such as reaching the highest orbit in commercial spaceflight and carrying out the first spacewalk by a private citizen.

The second flight could take place as soon as next year, while the third would be on the Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. However, Starship has yet to complete a flight without crew to orbit.

With Mr Isaacman spending millions on spaceflight, The National explains who this billionaire is and why he is spending a fortune on travelling to space.

How did he make his fortune?

Mr Isaacman dropped out of school at the age of 16 to run a technology company from his parent’s basement.

He founded the United Bank Card company, which helped small businesses process payments.

By 2018, he was the owner of several financial services companies, which offered customers point-of-sale software.

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Now, he runs Shift4, one of the largest payment technology companies in the world that handles more than $200 billion every year.

His net worth in 2020 was at $1.4bn, Forbes said.

Thrill-seeker

Aside from his business ventures, Mr Isaacman is also interested aviation.

At 28, he founded Draken International, which operates a fleet of 80 retired military fighter jets and provides aviation training for the US military and others around the world.

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He sold it to the Blackstone Group in 2019 for tens of millions of dollars.

In 2004, he started taking flying lessons. By 2009, he had set a world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet.

For many years, Mr Isaacman also trained fighter jet pilots and made a small fortune from doing so.

Reaching new heights

But, as a space geek since childhood, Mr Isaacman wanted to go further than an aircraft pilot could.

So, in 2021, he bought an entire passenger flight from SpaceX and took three others with him on the world’s first all-civilian spaceflight to orbit.

The mission raised more than $243 million for St. Jude’s Children's Research Hospital.

His new adventure, the Polaris programme, was announced this week. The first flight, called Polaris Dawn, will feature Mr Isaacman as the commander with three passengers, who will spend five days in orbit.

Updated: February 16, 2022, 12:53 PM