Justin Sun, founder of Tron, is heading to space. He will be the second person in the cryptocurrency sector to achieve this milestone. Blue Origin confirmed Sun's participation in its upcoming suborbital mission NS-34.
The mission will carry six passengers aboard a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. An official date has not yet been set.
The story behind Justin Sun's space flight
Alongside Sun, the crew includes Arfi Bahal, Jokan Erdem, and Justin Sun who will travel to space on a Blue Origin mission, along with JD Russell, who flew on a previous New Shepard flight.
Sun secured her seat in 2021 by winning a $28 million charity auction hosted by Blue Origin. The organization donated the auction proceeds to Future Club, a foundation focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which is supported by Blue Origin. Although Sun's flight was initially scheduled, it has now been postponed.
The NS-34 mission will be the thirty-fourth mission of the New Shepard program and the fourteenth to carry human passengers. The rocket is a reusable suborbital launch vehicle designed for short spaceflights that cross the Kármán line.
This is the internationally recognized boundary of space, at an altitude of 100 kilometers above Earth. The flight will last about ten minutes. During this time, passengers will experience weightlessness for several minutes before the capsule returns to Earth using a parachute.
All launches are conducted from Blue Origin's first launch site in West Texas. Notably, the New Shepard rocket is distinct from Blue Origin's larger orbital rocket, New Glenn.
While the New Glenn program is dedicated to launching satellites and interplanetary missions, the New Shepard program focuses on suborbital tourism and scientific payloads.
While Chun Wang, co-founder of a major Bitcoin mining pool, became the first cryptocurrency entrepreneur to fly to space on a SpaceX orbital mission earlier this year, Sun will be the first leader in the cryptocurrency industry to do so aboard Blue Origin.
Meanwhile, a live broadcast of the NS-34 launch will be available on Blue Origin's website. The company has not yet announced the final launch date.