Blue Origin successfully launched its new suborbital system, New Shepard. There were six people on board the spacecraft. It was the 34th flight of the spacecraft and the 14th manned launch in the history of the program.
The most famous passenger on board the spacecraft was Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain platform. He was originally scheduled to take part in the first manned flight of New Shepard in July 2021. At that time, Sun won the auction, paying $28 million for the seat. However, due to scheduling conflicts, he subsequently had to withdraw from the flight. As a result, he did not travel to space until 2025.
Sun was joined on board New Shepard by investor and traveler Arvinder Singh Bahal, entrepreneur and photographer Gökhan Erdem, journalist and meteorologist Deborah Martorell, Lionel Pitchford, who runs an orphanage in Nepal, and entrepreneur James Russell. This was Russell’s second flight. He had previously been in space as part of the NS-28 mission in November 2024. For the other five participants, this flight was their first space experience.
The launch of New Shepard took place on August 3. The flight proceeded normally. After the booster separated, the capsule with six travelers continued to climb and rose several kilometers above the Karman Line (100 km), which is considered the official boundary of outer space. After that, the capsule descended by parachute, while the booster landed using its engines. In total, the entire flight lasted just over 10 minutes.
Blue Origin has not disclosed the exact cost of tickets for New Shepard, but it is significantly less than the $28 million paid by Justin Sun. According to the company’s statement, these funds were allocated to 19 space charities to support education in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics, as well as to develop future life in space.
