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Crypto billionaire is finally getting his $28M ride to space

Four years after he put in a precedent-setting $28 million bid for a suborbital space trip, crypto billionaire Justin Sun is due to fly on the next mission planned by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture.

Sun and five other people were listed today as participants in Blue Origin’s NS-34 mission, which will be the company’s 14th crewed spaceflight. The date for liftoff from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas hasn’t yet been announced.

In a posting to the X social-media platform, Sun said he was “proud to join Blue Origin’s NS-34 mission and continue encouraging youth to pursue their dreams in science and space.” And in a follow-up posting, Sun claimed the title of “the youngest Chinese commercial astronaut.”

It’s been a long and not-always-smooth road to space for Sun, the 34-year-old founder of the Tron blockchain venture.

Until recently, Sun was the subject of a federal investigation over alleged market manipulation and unregistered sales of crypto asset securities. That case was put on hold in February, and a couple of months later, Sun earned a place of prominence at a crypto dinner with President Donald Trump by purchasing the biggest share of the $TRUMP meme coin.

By Alan Boyle

Mastermind of Cosmic Log, contributor to GeekWire and Universe Today, author of "The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference," past president of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.

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