Blue Origin, led by Jeff Bezos, is set to begin its tourism-focused space mission on the 3rd of August, according to their official website.
Blue Origin's NS-34 Space Tourism Mission Set for August 3
Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle is set to embark on its 34th mission, NS-34, on August 3, 2025. This mission will mark the company's 14th crewed space flight and is scheduled to take off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One (Corn Ranch) in West Texas [1][4].
The launch window opens at approximately 8:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday, with a live webcast starting 30 minutes before liftoff. The mission is expected to last between 10 to 12 minutes [3].
The crew for NS-34 consists of six space tourists, most of whom are flying for the first time. They are:
- Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal, a world traveler and real estate investor who has visited every country, skied over the poles, skydived at Everest and the Pyramids, and is a licensed pilot of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters [1][2].
- Gökhan Erdem, a Turkish entrepreneur and photographer, serving on the board of Erdem Holding which operates in multiple sectors including energy and telecommunications. His crew patch symbolizes his Turkish heritage with the Bosphorus Strait [2].
- Deborah Martorell, an Emmy-winning meteorologist. Her crew patch symbolizes her background in meteorology with the sun in the center [2].
- Lionel Pitchford, a humanitarian educator. His crew patch symbolizes his decades of work in Nepal with Mt. Everest [2].
- James (J.D.) Russell, an entrepreneur who previously flew on NS-28 in November 2024. J.D.'s foundation is symbolized by the book in his crew patch [1].
- H.E. Justin Sun, the crypto pioneer and founder of TRON. This will be his first spaceflight [1].
Blue Origin has not yet revealed specific symbolic details of the NS-34 mission patch. However, it has been released ahead of the launch.
This mission continues Blue Origin’s series of New Shepard suborbital space tourism missions, which have collectively taken 70 individuals above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space [2].
The booster used in this mission will return to Earth for refurbishment and reuse after each mission, as is the case with all New Shepard missions.
Justin Sun, a crypto billionaire, won a seat on Blue Origin's first human flight in a June 2021 auction for $28 million. However, he was unable to fly on the previous mission due to scheduling issues [1].
The previous mission, which launched on July 20, 2021, marked the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The cost of a seat on New Shepard's tourism mission for NS-34 remains unknown.
[1] - Blue Origin [2] - Space.com [3] - CNN [4] - NASA
- As a real estate investor and world traveler, Arvinder Singh Bahal has added a space tourism mission with Blue Origin to his extensive list of adventures.
- Justin Sun, the founder of TRON and a pioneer in the crypto industry, has finally secured a seat on Blue Origin's suborbital space tourism mission, NS-34, after winning a bid in June 2021.
- The space tourism market is expanding, with businesses like Blue Origin offering trips to space for entrepreneurs like Gökhan Erdem, who serves on the board of Erdem Holding.
- The Blue Origin NS-34 mission, set for August 3, 2025, is expected to contribute to scientific research, as it will involve a crew that includes a meteorologist and a humanitarian educator.
