Blue Origin’s Latest Launch Sends Crypto Billionaire Justin Sun to Space After He Bid $28M for Seat on 10-Minute Flight

Six more people have journeyed into space, thanks to Blue Origin.

The space exploration company, founded by Jeff Bezos, successfully launched another crew into suborbital space on Sunday, August 3. Among those onboard was cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun.

The flight, officially designated NS-34, marked the 34th mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard program, according to the company’s website.

The launch took place at 8:43 a.m. local time from Blue Origin’s West Texas site, as noted on Blue Origin’s X account. Within minutes, flight controllers confirmed “capsule separation,” indicating that the crew had reached a state of weightlessness. By 8:47 a.m., the company confirmed that the capsule reached its highest point, or apogee, and a few minutes later, it safely returned to Earth at 8:53 a.m. The entire flight lasted roughly 10 minutes.

Blue Origin later announced it had “successfully completed its 14th human spaceflight.” In addition to Sun, the NS-34 crew included real estate investor Arvi Bahal, Turkish businessman Gökhan Erdem, meteorologist Deborah Martorell, educator Lionel Pitchford, and entrepreneur J.D. Russell.

Sun had previously secured his seat aboard New Shepard with a $28 million bid back in 2021, according to both Bloomberg and Space.org. He had originally planned to join the historic July 20, 2021 flight, commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, but a scheduling conflict prevented his participation at the time.

“It was an honor to see so many nations represented on our flight today,” said Phil Joyce, Blue Origin’s Senior Vice President, in a statement. “The view of our fragile planet from space has a unifying effect on all who witness it, and I am always eager to see how our astronauts use this experience for the benefit of Earth.”

As described on Blue Origin’s website, the New Shepard is a fully reusable, suborbital rocket system designed for human spaceflight. During the roughly 11-minute autonomous flight, passengers cross the Kármán line — the internationally recognized boundary of space — and experience several minutes of weightlessness and breathtaking views of Earth.

Justin Sun shared his thoughts following the mission on Instagram: “For this mission, I’ve waited for four years but we’ve finally delivered it. I really appreciate Mr. Bezos and his team for making this possible. And thank you dad and mom for bringing me to Earth,” he wrote.

“When I look at it from space, Earth is so small and that’s our home. We definitely need to do whatever we can do to protect it,” he added.

Sun also made headlines in November 2025 for purchasing a viral piece of conceptual art — a yellow banana duct-taped to a wall. “This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes and the cryptocurrency community,” he wrote on X. “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”

“I am honored to be the proud owner of the banana 🍌 and look forward to it sparking further inspiration and impact for art enthusiasts around the world,” Sun added.

Eventually, he ate the banana — and shared that moment online too. “To be honest, for a banana with such a back story, the taste is naturally different from an ordinary one. I could discern a hint of what Big Mike bananas from 100 years ago might have tasted like,” he joked on X.