The identity of Blue Origin's spaceflight auction winner is no longer a mystery.
Justin Sun, the founder and CEO of the blockchain platform Tron, announced today (Dec. 22) that he's the person who paid $28 million for a seat aboard Blue Origin's first crewed spaceflight.
That mission launched on July 20, carrying Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and three other people to suborbital space on the company's New Shepard spacecraft. The then-unnamed auction winner was not among them, however, remaining groundbound due to scheduling conflicts, Blue Origin representatives said at the time.
In photos: Blue Origin's 1st New Shepard passenger launch with Jeff Bezos
But it turns out that Sun's spaceflight dreams were just deferred, not dashed. The 31-year-old entrepreneur said today that he plans to fly on a New Shepard mission next year, along with five other "space warriors" that he will nominate.
Sun outlined what he's looking for in a Twitter thread today. One crewmate nominee will be "a prominent figure in the crypto[currency] world," he said. Another will be a Tron community member "with a strong passion for space," and another will be a tech entrepreneur. The fourth and fifth nominees will be an artist and a celebrity, respectively.
More details about the nomination process and the criteria involved will be released over the coming months, Blue Origin representatives said.
Sun's $28 million bid went to Club for the Future, Blue Origin's nonprofit. Club for the Future aims to inspire kids to pursue careers in science, engineering, technology and math "and to help invent the future of life in space," according to the organization's website.
Sun said he shares these ambitious goals.
"With the rapid development of commercial aerospace, entering space may become a dream that every person can realize in his or her lifetime. We are entering the era of great spaceflight. This great journey requires more people to get involved," Sun said in a Blue Origin statement.
"The initiative of Blue Origin to take more people to space to see Earth as our singular common home is extraordinary," he added. "Club for the Future offers a way to use that experience to inspire youth around the world to dream and act on their dreams of science, technology and space exploration. I felt compelled to help further that vision through my bid."
Sun was born and raised in China, but the Caribbean nation of Grenada recently appointed him its ambassador to the World Trade Organization. Sun will be the first Grenadian, the first international diplomat and the first blockchain industry leader to travel to space, according to Blue Origin.
Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
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