Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket took off and landed from its west Texas proving grounds on January 22, 2016, reusing the same rocket for the first time. via Blue Origin.Justin Sun finally got off the ground… literally. The TRON founder and crypto mogul, who currently serves as an adviser at HTX, boarded a Blue Origin rocket early Sunday morning and flew to space.
The 7:42 a.m. launch took off from West Texas, sending Justin and five others on a short suborbital flight to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. The 10-minute ride ended with a parachute landing just before 9 a.m., wrapping up what Blue Origin confirmed as its 14th human spaceflight.
Justin originally secured the seat four years ago after placing the highest bid of $28 million during Blue Origin’s auction in 2021.
That auction was set up to benefit Club for the Future, a space-focused charity backed by Jeff Bezos. Justin was supposed to ride on the first flight with Bezos himself that year, but had to delay. Bezos went. Justin waited. On Sunday, he finally launched.
Six passengers reached edge of space on New Shepard capsule
The NS-24 mission featured six people: Justin, Arvi Bahal (real estate investor), Gökhan Erdem (Turkish businessman), Deborah Martorell (meteorologist and journalist), Lionel Pitchford (teacher), and JD Russell (venture capital founder at Alpha Funds).
The flight hit apogee by 8:47 a.m., and by 8:53 a.m., the capsule touched down safely. Blue Origin posted online, “Crew Capsule apogee confirmed,” and followed it with: “Welcome back, NS-24 crew.”
The rocket used, New Shepard, is a reusable suborbital system. The capsule is fully autonomous and doesn’t require a pilot. It crosses the Kármán line—about 100 km above sea level—which scientists recognize as the boundary of space. The flight lasts about 11 minutes, during which passengers experience weightlessness and views of Earth from space.
After the flight, Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President at Blue Origin, issued a statement. “It was an honor to see so many nations represented on our flight today,” he said. “The view of our fragile planet from space has a unifying effect on all who witness it.”
Justin posted a video of himself on Instagram once he returned. “For this mission, I’ve waited for four years but we’ve finally delivered it,” he said. “I really appreciate Mr. Bezos and his team for making this possible. And thank you, Dad and Mom, for bringing me to Earth.” He added, “When I look at it from space, Earth is so small and that’s our home. We definitely need to do whatever we can to protect it.”
Justin’s ticket tops rival prices, adds to list of crypto stunts
Blue Origin doesn’t reveal the usual cost of a seat. But rival firm Virgin Galactic charges around $600,000 for its space tourism flights. That makes Justin’s bid, $28 million, more than 46 times the Virgin price tag.
This wasn’t the first time Blue Origin flew public figures. In April, the same rocket carried Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, Kerianne Flynn, Aisha Bowe, and Amanda Nguyen. That was the company’s 31st overall launch, but not all of them were crewed.
Justin’s trip now joins his long list of headline moves. In November 2025, he bought a piece of viral internet art: a banana duct-taped to a wall. He explained the reason for the purchase on X. “This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes and the cryptocurrency community,” he wrote. “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.”
