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An American billionaire has become the first person to take part in a private spacewalk – against the spectacular backdrop of the Earth.

A spacewalk is considered one of the most dangerous activities an astronaut can do in orbit.

SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk – live updates

SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk
Pic: SpaceX
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Jared Isaacman outside the Dragon capsule. Pic: SpaceX

It was delayed by around four hours earlier this morning – with no explanation given – before final safety checks of the spacesuits and equipment were carried out and SpaceX officials confirmed the mission was “go for spacewalk”.

First images broadcast from inside the Dragon capsule showed the four-strong crew preparing for the historic event – and sharing fist bumps with each other.

Pic: SpaceX via AP
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The crew inside the Dragon capsule ahead of the scheduled spacewalk. Pic: SpaceX via AP

SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk - live
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Pic: SpaceX

Daredevil Jared Isaacman, 41, was the first to exit the capsule – joining a small, elite group of spacewalkers who until today had included only professional astronauts.

After opening the hatch, a body camera showed his ascent through the narrow opening before incredible footage showed the spacewalk taking place to huge cheers from mission control at Cape Canaveral.

“It’s gorgeous,” he said, in awe of what he could see, as he eased out of the spacecraft into the vacuum of space, hundreds of miles from Earth.

He kept a hand or foot attached to the capsule the whole time as he flexed his arms and legs to see how the new spacesuit held up.

“The handsfree demonstration is very comparable to the trainer, in terms of the foot restraint,” he added, as he tested his spacesuit.

He had said before lift-off earlier this week: “Whatever risk is associated with it, it is worth it.”

“I wasn’t alive when humans walked on the moon,” he said. “I’d certainly like my kids to see humans walking on the moon and Mars, and venturing out and exploring our solar system.”

The tech entrepreneur blasted into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida before dawn on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday for the five-day flight – along with mission pilot Scott Poteet, 50, a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel, and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis, 30, and Anna Menon, 38, both senior engineers at the company.

Ms Gillis followed Mr Isaacman out of the capsule on Thursday to carry out the same mobility tests.

The pair bobbed up and down in weightlessness, no higher than their knees out of the capsule.

Astronauts from left, mission specialist Anna Menon, pilot Scott Poteet, commander Jared Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis. Pic: AP
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Astronauts from left, mission specialist Anna Menon, pilot Scott Poteet, commander Jared Isaacman and mission specialist Sarah Gillis. Pic: AP

The mission, called Polaris Dawn, to test a new line of spacesuits is the Elon Musk-led company’s riskiest mission yet – from a space capsule that doesn’t have a safety airlock, and in suits far slimmer than the bulky protective layers worn by NASA astronauts.

It is the first of three funded by Mr Isaacman – a pilot and the billionaire founder of electronic payment company Shift4.

He has refused to say how much he is paying for the missions, but they are believed to have cost hundreds of millions of dollars based on Crew Dragon’s roughly $55m (£42m) per-seat price for other flights.

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Ms Gillis could be heard saying “pretty good” as she carried out her spacewalk – before she followed Mr Isaacman back into the capsule, after being told what sounded like she had less than six minutes of oxygen supply left.

“Pressure indicates good seal,” mission control told the astronauts, reassuringly, as the hatch was shut again.

“That was really cool,” said one of the presenters on the SpaceX live stream.

Mr Menon and Mr Poteet remained inside the spacecraft during the spacewalk.

Only government astronauts with several years of training have done spacewalks in the past.

There have been around 270 on the International Space Station (ISS) since it was set up in 2000, and 16 by Chinese astronauts on Beijing’s Tiangong space station.

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

A bystander hailed a hero after he tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting is a shop owner.

The man, named by a relative as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, was seen in a video running up to the attacker from behind and then grabbing the shotgun from his hands before pointing the weapon back at him.

The footage then showed the terrorist heading towards a bridge where another gunman was located, while the bystander placed the gun beside a tree.

Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind
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Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind

Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker
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Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker

Live updates on Sydney shooting

Mr Ahmed, who was wearing a white T-shirt, was shot twice in the incident and was due to have surgery, his cousin, Mustafa, has revealed.

In a video on 7News, Mr Ahmed appeared to have a bloodied arm and hand, and was helped by other people near the scene in the Australian city.

At least 11 people were killed and 29 others injured in the attack when two gunmen opened fire from a bridge on crowds at a Jewish event around 6pm local time on Sunday evening.

More than 1,000 people had been at the gathering which was celebrating the festival of Hanukkah.

Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist
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Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist

The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge
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The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge

A gunman was killed and another was in a critical condition following the shooting.

One of the suspects was 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

His driver’s licence says he lives in Bonnyrigg, a suburb of Sydney. The identity of the other suspected attacker is not known.

Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects
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Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects

Mustafa said father-of-two Mr Ahmed, who owns a fruit shop in the Sydney suburb of Sutherland, did not have any experience with guns but was just walking past when he decided to step in.

He told 7News: “He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside.

“We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero, 100%.”

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One of the suspected gunmen has been named as 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

The footage of the bystander’s actions spread quickly on social media as people praised the man for his bravery, saying his actions had potentially saved many lives.

“Australian hero (random civilian) wrestles gun off attacker and disarms him. Some people are brave and then some people are… whatever this is,” one person said on X, sharing the video.

“This Australian man saved countless lives by stripping the gun off one of the terrorists at Bondi beach. HERO,” another said.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, said it was the “most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen”.

“A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people.”

“That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” he added.

The country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese praised the actions of Australians who had “run towards danger in order to help others”.

“These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives,” he told a news conference.

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Photographer ‘locked eyes’ with gunman, as witness describes Bondi ‘warzone’

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Photographer 'locked eyes' with gunman, as witness describes Bondi 'warzone'

Messages were sweeping across Sydney within minutes of the attack at Bondi Beach.

Parents messaged their children and teenagers, who had been enjoying a late afternoon swim at Bondi.

Witnesses said police were on the scene quickly, and the streets of Sydney’s eastern suburbs were full of police cars and ambulances on their way to Bondi.

Follow live: 11 people killed at event celebrating Hanukkah

When we arrived, there were still dozens of people processing what had happened, and everywhere – shock.

Witnesses told us that when the gunfire started some people took cover in the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. Once the threat was over, lifeguards helped the injured and used surfboards to carry them out.

Witnesses tell Sky's Nicole Johnston of Bondi 'warzone'
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Witnesses tell Sky’s Nicole Johnston of Bondi ‘warzone’

Some people were clearly traumatised and provided graphic detail of witnessing the shooting and seeing people killed in front of them.

More on Bondi Beach Shooting

A photographer, Danny, was covering the Jewish holiday event.

Read more: What we know so far

He said he “locked eyes” with one of the gunmen, who then fired towards him. Danny said he was grazed by a bullet. He kept filming during the shooting, while taking cover.

Sam, from France, was working at Bondi. He went to the scene of the attack and saw almost a dozen people lying on the ground covered in blood. Sam described it as like a “war zone”.

Rabbi Lei Wolff, from Central Synagogue in Sydney, went to Bondi as soon as he heard about the mass shooting. A dear friend of his, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was killed in the attack.

Rabbi Wolff has called on people around the world to stand with Australia’s Jewish community against terrorism.

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Israel says Hamas commander – who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks – killed in strike

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Israel says Hamas commander - who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks - killed in strike

A senior Hamas commander who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel has been killed in a strike on Gaza City, according to the country’s military.

Raed Saad was targeted in response to an attack by Hamas in which an explosive device injured two soldiers on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.

It is the highest-profile killing of a senior Hamas figure since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect in October.

Gaza health authorities said the attack on a car in Gaza City killed five people and wounded at least 25 others, but there has been no confirmation from Hamas or medics that Saed was among the dead.

Raed Saed
Image:
Raed Saed

Hamas condemned the attack in a statement as a violation of the ceasefire agreement but stopped short of threatening retaliation.

An Israeli military official described Saed as a high-ranked Hamas member who helped establish and advance the group’s weapons production network.

“In recent months, he operated to re-establish Hamas’ capabilities and weapons manufacturing, a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the official said.

More on Israel-hamas War

The 10 October ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City’s ruins after a war that began after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health officials in Gaza.

Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased, but violence has not completely stopped.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 386 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce, while Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed.

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