- Tron founder Justin Sun has safely returned to Earth after his flight aboard the Jeff Bezos-owned New Shepard spacecraft.
- Sun had originally been slated to fly on the first ever manned New Shepard flight back in 2021 after paying US$28 million for the privilege, but a scheduling conflict cruelled those plans.
- After the flight, Sun said the experience made him realise how small Earth is and that we “need to do whatever we can do to protect it.”
He’s back, baby! Tron founder and accused fraudster, Justin Sun, has returned safely and triumphantly from his ecstatic 10-minute ride upon Jeff Bezos’ penis-shaped starship, the mighty New Shepard.
The mission, known as NS-34, was the 34th overall flight for the New Shepard craft and its 14th manned flight. The mission launched at 7:43am local time on Sunday, August 3, from the Bezos-owned Blue Origin launch facility in West Texas, according to Space.com.
“For this mission we waited four years, but we finally delivered. I really appreciate Mr. Bezos and his team for making this possible,” an emotional Sun said in a video recorded just after he returned to Earth.
“When I look from space, the earth is so small and it’s our home. We need to do whatever we can do to protect it.”, Sun added, possibly foreshadowing some kind of environmental-focussed plans for Tron.
Five other astronauts shared the flight with Sun — Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal, an Indian-born American real estate investor; American entrepreneur James (J.D.) Russell; Turkish businessman Gökhan Erdem; Puerto Rican journalist Deborah Martorell and Englishman Lionel Pitchford, who runs a Nepalese orphanage.
“It was an honor to see so many nations represented on our flight today,” said New Shepard senior vice president, Phil Joyce, in a statement released by the company. “The view of our fragile planet from space has a unifying effect on all who witness it, and I am always eager to see how our astronauts use this experience for the benefit of Earth.”
In 2021, Sun won an auction for a seat on the very first manned New Shepard flight, paying US$28 million (AU$43m) for the privilege. Unfortunately for the Tron founder, a scheduling conflict meant he missed that first flight, which launched back in July 20, 2021 on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Flights aboard the New Shepard last about 10-12 minutes, during which time the craft ascends to just above the Kármán line, about 100km above Earth, which is generally recognised as the boundary of space.
Related: Justin Sun’s Tron Strikes Reverse Merger Deal to Go Public via SRM Entertainment
Justin Sun Is Not Shy of A Media Stunt
Sun’s short but exhilarating ride on Bezos’ impressive rocket isn’t his first foray into expensive headline-grabbing stunts.
Last year, the Tron founder bought and ate that ‘sculpture’ of a banana taped to a wall — I say sculpture, but it was literally just a banana taped to a wall.
And how much did this particular banana cost? Well, Sun paid a whopping US$6.2 million (AU$9.5m) for the artwork (banana), which incidentally is titled ‘Comedian’.
Related: Justin Sun’s $100M TRUMP Token Bet Signals Deepening Crypto-Political Tie-Up
To eat the banana, Sun held an event at one of Hong Kong’s fanciest hotels in front of a crowd of influencers and journalists, describing the artwork (banana) as “iconic”.
What does a US$6.2 million banana taste like? Well, according to Sun, it was “much better than other bananas”.
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