Posted: Sep 15, 2024 5:38 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 15 In this image taken from video, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, centre, is seen following his return with his crew after the SpaceX capsule landed in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugas early Sunday. (SpaceX/The Associated Press) Social Sharing A billionaire spacewalker returned to Earth with his crew on Sunday, ending a five-day trip that lifted them higher than anyone has travelled since NASA's moonwalkers. SpaceX's capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot. They pulled off the first private spacewalk while orbiting nearly 740 kilometres above Earth, higher than the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. Their spacecraft hit a peak altitude of 1,408 kilometres following Tuesday's liftoff. Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union scored the first in 1965, and SpaceX's Sarah Gillis the 265th. Until now, all spacewalks were done by professional astronauts. "We are mission complete," Isaacman radioed as the capsule bobbed in the water, awaiting the recovery team. Within an hour, all four were out of their spacecraft, pumping their fists with joy as they emerged onto the ship's deck. It was the first time SpaceX aimed for a splashdown near the Dry Tortugas, a cluster of islands 113 kilometres west of Key West. To celebrate the new location, SpaceX employees brought a big, green turtle balloon to Mission Control at company headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. The company usually targets closer to the Florida coast, but two weeks of poor weather forecasts prompted SpaceX to look elsewhere. WATCH | Billionaire, SpaceX engineer make history with first commercial spacewalks: Billionaire, SpaceX engineer make history with first commercial spacewalks 25 days ago