Billionaire who flew SpaceX last year going back into orbit

The billionaire who flew on his own SpaceX flight last year is headed back up, aiming for an even higher orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The billionaire who launched on his own SpaceX flight last year is headed back up, aiming for an even higher orbit.

Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman announced Monday that he will make another private spaceflight launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It will be the first of three crew SpaceX flights to try out new tech, culminating in the first flight of the company’s new Starship with people on board.

Isaacman paid an undisclosed amount for a three-day spaceflight for himself and three others last September. On Monday, Isaacman said that he and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are sharing costs for the upcoming flight but he would not provide details.

Plans call for Isaacman and three others, including two SpaceX engineers and a retired Air Force pilot, to blast off aboard a Falcon rocket no earlier than November. They will circle Earth for up to five days, higher than any previous Dragon capsule — the September flight reached more than 350 miles high (500 kilometers). This time, SpaceX will be shooting for more than 400 miles (640 kilometers) in order to pass through part of the Van Allen radiation belts surrounding Earth.