Space travel company Blue Origin anticipates launching its subsequent space tourism journey in August 2025.
The space industry is gearing up for an exciting event as Blue Origin has announced a space tourism flight scheduled for August 2025. This flight, the 34th mission overall and the 14th human flight of the New Shepard program, is set to take off from Launch Site One in West Texas on August 3, 2025, at 12:30 UTC.
The crew for this historic flight includes a diverse group of individuals, each with their unique backgrounds and accomplishments. Among them is Arvi Bahal, a real estate investor and adventurer, originally from India and now an American citizen. Known for his Turkish heritage, Gökhan Erdem is also part of the crew. Deborah Martorell, a meteorologist from Puerto Rico, will be the only woman on the flight.
Lionel Pitchford, a philanthropist, is a teacher, translator, and tour guide. He has founded an orphanage in Kathmandu and a Nepal non-profit dedicated to serving disadvantaged children and girls. James (J.D.) Russell, a serial entrepreneur, has previously been to space with New Shepherd. He founded Alpha Funds and Alpha Aerospace and created a foundation dedicated to children's education and first responders.
The flight will also include three businessmen, the identities of whom have not been previously disclosed. H.E. Justin Sun, the Ambassador and former Permanent Representative of Grenada to the World Trade Organisation, and Prime Minister of Liberland, is one of these businessmen. He is the Founder of blockchain TRON and DAO and has donated the proceeds from winning a seat on New Shepard to Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future.
This flight marks H.E. Justin Sun's space tourism journey, following his previous trip with New Shepherd. Deborah Martorell, who has previously participated in a microgravity flight with NASA in 2007, will also be embarking on her space journey with this flight.
The upcoming flight is a follow-up to four earlier flights in the year, including a controversial all-woman flight that included pop-star Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez, who was Jeff Bezos's fiancée at the time.
Notably, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library partners with the foundation created by James (J.D.) Russell to support children's education. Arvinder Singh Bahal, a U.S. citizen and lifelong traveler, has visited every country, the North and South Poles, skydived Mount Everest and the Pyramids of Giza, and holds a private pilot's license and flies helicopters.
Gökhan Erdem, a board member of Erden Holding, is a passionate space enthusiast and an avid photographer. Deborah Martorell has won eight Emmy Awards and two Awards of Excellence in Science Reporting from the American Meteorological Society. She is also a Solar System Ambassador for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This space tourism flight promises to be an exciting event, bringing together a diverse group of individuals for a journey into the cosmos. Stay tuned for more updates on this historic event.
- Arvi Bahal, known for his adventurous spirit and philanthropic work, will be part of the space tourism flight in August 2025, having visited every country, the North and South Poles, and even skydiving over Mount Everest and the Pyramids of Giza.
- Lionel Pitchford, a tour guide with a passion for education, will also board the New Shepard for the space tourism flight, having founded an orphanage in Kathmandu and a Nepal non-profit dedicated to serving disadvantaged children and girls.
- Deborah Martorell, a meteorologist with Emmy Awards and a Solar System Ambassador for NASA, will join this space flight, marking her second experience in space after participating in a microgravity flight with NASA in 2007.
- H.E. Justin Sun, the Ambassador and former Permanent Representative of Grenada to the World Trade Organisation, and Prime Minister of Liberland, will be one of the businessmen on the space tourism flight, following his previous trip with New Shepherd, and donating the proceeds to Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future. This flight also includes a photographer, Gökhan Erdem, who is an avid space enthusiast and board member of Erden Holding.
