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Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and his crew stepped out for the first private spacewalk on Thursday, making history by leading the first-ever spacewalk by non-professional astronauts. 

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The entrepreneur teamed up with SpaceX on the daring mission hundreds of miles above Earth. 

Isaacman and his crew waited until their capsule was depressurised before popping open the hatch. 

Isaacman, 41, CEO and founder of the Shift4 credit card-processing company, has declined to disclose how much he invested in the flight. 

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All four on board wore SpaceX's new spacewalking suits to protect themselves from the harsh vacuum. 

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It was the key focus of the five-day flight sponsored by Isaacman and Elon Musk's company, and the culmination of years of development geared toward settling Mars and other planets. 

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Isaacman, along with his crew, launched on Tuesday from Florida, rocketing farther from Earth than anyone since NASA's moonwalkers. The orbit was reduced by half — to 460 miles (740 kilometres), for the spacewalk. 

Also read: Polaris Dawn travels to 1,400 km above Earth, farthest since 1966 Gemini mission

The first spacewalking test was expected to last about two hours and involved more stretching than walking. 

According to the plan, Isaacman was supposed to keep a hand or foot attached to it the entire time as he flexed his arms and legs to see how the new spacesuit would hold up. 

After about 15 minutes outside, Isaacman was to be replaced by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis to go through the same motions.

Space experts and risk analysts said that it's inevitable that some will seek the thrill of spacewalking, deemed one of the most dangerous parts of spaceflight after launch and reentry but also the most soul-stirring. 

Watch | SpaceX launches 'all civilian' Polaris mission: A new frontier in private space exploration

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All four crew members underwent intensive training before the trip. 

Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot, and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon stayed strapped to their seats to monitor from inside. 

(With inputs from agencies)