Crypto billionaire Justin Sun to fly into space aboard Blue Origin

In a post on social media platform X, he expressed pride in joining Blue Origin’s NS-34 mission and inspired young people to follow their dreams in science and space exploration.

In a subsequent post, he referred to himself as "the youngest Chinese commercial astronaut."

Originally a winner of the 2021 auction for a seat on the first New Shepard, Blue Origin's fully reusable, suborbital rocket system built for human flight, Sun was unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts. His US$28 million bid was donated to 19 space-related charities aimed at encouraging future generations to pursue careers in STEAM and contribute to the future of space exploration, GeekWire finds.

Crypto billionaire Justin Sun. Photo by courtesy of Instagram/Justin Sun

That mission launched on July 20 of the same year carrying Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and three others to suborbital space aboard the reusable New Shepard rocket.

Joining Sun this time are Arvinder Singh Bahal, an India-born real estate investor and explorer, Gokhan Erdem, a Turkish entrepreneur, space enthusiast and photographer, Deborah Martorell, a journalist and meteorologist from Puerto Rico, Lionel Pitchford, a British national based in Spain with extensive global travel experience, and James (J.D.) Russell, founder of venture capital firm Alpha Funds. Russell flew on the NS-28 mission in November 2024, Blue Origin informs.

NS-34 will mark the 14th crewed flight of the New Shepard and the fifth mission in 2025. The previous flight, NS-33, launched on June 29.

All New Shepard missions depart from Blue Origin’s launch site in western Texas state in the U.S. Each flight lasts 10 to 12 minutes from launch to parachute-assisted landing of the crew capsule. The autonomous vehicle offers several minutes of weightlessness and sweeping views of Earth from an altitude of over 100 kilometers.

A former protégé of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Sun appeared on the cover of Forbes in April 2025 and was described as one of the most influential and outspoken personalities in the crypto world. He is worth an estimated $8.5 billion, according to Forbes.

He has been named multiple times in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the Consumer Technology category.