Justin Sun's 8000-word Recollection of Space Travel: You Have to Go Get What You Want

Jan 23 — Beijing Voyager Space Technology Co., Ltd.’s “Voyager One (CYZ1)” is targeted for its first manned flight in 2028, with over 10 paid space tourists already registered—including Chinese actor Huang Jingyu, the 009th tourist. A user recently queried the technical challenges and market outlook of this domestic space journey. TRON founder Justin Sun addressed the topic in his first 8,000-word response on Zhihu. He disclosed he flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket (NS-34 mission) on August 3, 2025. Regarding China’s domestic commercial manned space plans, Sun noted the projects mark a shift: space travel is moving from “an experience for a select few” to “a reality more people can access.” On market prospects, Sun acknowledged space tourism may still be seen as a “luxury” or “gimmick” in the short term. But he argued that if the industry leverages flight experience to build manufacturing capacity, operational systems, talent pipelines, and standardized protocols, it could expand to broader applications—including microgravity experiments, material and drug development, and payload testing. Safety and compliance, he emphasized, are always paramount. For Chinese commercial aerospace, Sun stated: “We hope it’s not just fast, but stable.” He called on the market to be more patient and understanding of engineering work, testing, and post-failure reviews, urging a focus on sustainable space exploration rather than just ticket prices and publicity. In his article, Sun shared his space longing grew from a childhood sense of connection to deep space. The 2003 launch of Shenzhou 5, he said, made him realize “reaching space” was not just science fiction but a tangible goal. After booking his flight and waiting four years, he finally launched on August 3, 2025. The $28 million, he noted, was not a transaction but a “destiny fulfillment.” His experience included pre-launch nerves (frequent bathroom trips), zero gravity in flight, and challenges like facial distortion and breathing difficulties from 5.5Gs of reentry overload. “Space travel is not a romantic adventure,” he concluded. “It’s a cold, realistic engineering miracle.”