Blue Origin flies crypto-billionaire Justin Sun, 5 others to space
What's the story
Jeff Bezos's private spaceflight company, Blue Origin, has successfully launched its 34th mission. The NS-34 mission lifted off from West Texas at 8:43am EDT on Sunday. Among the six passengers on board was cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun, who had won an auction for a seat on the first-ever crewed flight of New Shepard back in June 2021 by bidding $28 million.
Spaceflight experience
Who were the passengers on board
Sun, the founder of blockchain platform TRON, was initially supposed to be on Blue Origin's first-ever crewed flight in July 2021. However, a scheduling conflict prevented him from doing so, and he flew on the NS-34 mission instead. This time around, he was joined by Arvinder Singh Bahal (an Indian-born American real estate investor), Turkish businessman Gokhan Erdem, Puerto Rican journalist Deborah Martorell, philanthropist Lionel Pitchford, and American entrepreneur James Russell.
Twitter Post
Take a look at the official post
We just completed our 14th human spaceflight and the 34th flight of the New Shepard program. The crew included: Arvi Bahal, Gökhan Erdem, Deborah Martorell, Lionel Pitchford, J.D. Russell, and H.E. Justin Sun. To date, New Shepard has flown 75 people to space, including five… pic.twitter.com/ZqBRbNZSZQ
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) August 3, 2025
Post-flight thoughts
Sun reflects on his experience
The NS-34 mission lasted 10-12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown, giving passengers a few minutes in weightlessness above the Karman line, the point where space begins. After the brief trip, Sun reflected on his experience. He said, "For this mission, I've waited four years, but we've finally delivered it. I really appreciate Mr. Bezos and his team for making this possible." He also emphasized the need to protect Earth after seeing its fragility from space.