- TRON’s Justin Sun won a $28 million auction in 2021 to fly with Blue Origin, and finally took his Outer space journey on August 3, 2025.
- Sun joined five other civilians on Blue Origin’s NS-34 mission, experiencing four minutes of weightlessness during a 10-minute suborbital flight.
- After returning, Sun praised Earth’s fragility and emphasized the need to protect the planet.
Justin Sun, founder of the blockchain platform TRON, finally made his four-year‑long dream come true by boarding Blue Origin’s NS‑34 suborbital flight from West Texas on August 3. The 34th mission of the New Shepard system lifted off at 8:43 a.m., and had six civilian passengers onboard. The 10‑minute journey crossed the Kármán line and delivered roughly four minutes of weightlessness.
Sun secured his ticket in June 2021, placing the winning bid of $28 million in an auction tied to Blue Origin’s Club for the Future initiative. He originally intended to fly on the company’s first crewed mission in July 2021 but had to postpone due to scheduling conflicts.He donated the entire bid to Blue Origin’s charitable foundation.
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Diverse crew’s brief outer space journey
Joining Sun in space were Arvi Singh Bahal an Indian‑origin investor; Gökhan Erdem, a Turkish businessman; Deborah Martorell a Puerto Rican meteorologist; Lionel Pitchford, an English philanthropist and educator; and J. D. Russell, an entrepreneur and VC founder.
Following his safe return, Sun spoke of his expereince, thanking the Blue Origin team and Jeff Bezoz. Sun also took a moment to thank his Dad and Mom for bringing him on earth. “Earth is so small, and it’s our home. We definitely need to do whatever we can to protect it,” he said, reflecting the so-called overview effect experienced by astronauts.
Online reactions were swift and mixed, with praise for the inspirational achievement as well as remarks on the extraordinary cost. Netizens also made comparisons to other civilian space travel offers like that offered by Virgin Galactic, which is rumoured to cost ~$600,000, making space tourism super exclusive even for the ultra-rich.
