On Tuesday, Blue Origin announced that Justin Sun, the creator of Tron, will be part of the next manned expedition on the New Shepard rocket, marking another well-known personality joining Jeff Bezos’ space endeavors.
Sun secured the initial New Shepard seat in a 2021 auction with a bid of $28 million, which supported 19 charities focused on space, but was unable to participate in the July 2021 flight due to scheduling issues.
For the NS-34 mission, Sun will be accompanied by real estate mogul Arvi Bahal, Turkish entrepreneur Gökhan Erdem, meteorologist Deborah Martorell from Puerto Rico, UK-born charity founder Lionel Pitchford, and venture investor J.D. Russell.
Another Wealthy Individual Ventures to Space
According to Blue Origin’s official announcement, this mission will be the 14th manned journey for the New Shepard program and the 34th flight in total, with the exact launch date yet to be disclosed.
This upcoming mission will bring the total number of people that Blue Origin has sent beyond the Kármán line, the internationally recognized edge of space, to 76.
Featured on the cover of Forbes in April 2025, Sun is recognized as a prominent figure in the crypto world. He joins an expanding list of business leaders, philanthropists, and celebrities who have taken off with Blue Origin, with past passengers including William Shatner, Michael Strahan, Katy Perry, and Gayle King.
Legal Battles and Art Purchases
Earlier this year, Sun filed a legal case against music executive David Geffen in a Manhattan federal court, seeking to reclaim or receive up to $80 million in compensation for an Alberto Giacometti sculpture he alleges was illicitly sold without his authorization.
Sun accused a former assistant, Xiong Zihan Sydney, of forging documents and employing a fake attorney to facilitate the sale of the Le Nez sculpture, exchanging it for Geffen’s art and cash valued at approximately $65.5 million. Geffen’s lawyers dismissed the lawsuit as “bizarre and baseless,” refuting Sun’s assertions and denying any misconduct.
In November, Sun purchased one of three exclusive rights to Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian”—a 2019 artwork featuring a banana taped to a wall—at a New York auction for $5.2 million. Shortly after acquiring the piece, he ate the banana on stage.
Furthermore, he committed to buying 100,000 bananas from the New York street vendor who originally supplied the fruit for the artwork.
The article “Justin Sun of Tron Set to Embark on Blue Origin’s Upcoming Manned Voyage” was first featured on CryptoPotato.
