Arvinder "Arvi" Singh Bahal is an 80‑year‑old real estate investor born in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. He now lives in the United States and is a naturalised U.S. citizen. He runs Bahal Properties and has been in business since the 1970s.
He is a lifelong adventurer who has visited all 196 countries and all seven continents. He has flown over Mount Everest and also skydived at the Pyramids of Giza. He holds a private pilot's licence and flies helicopters. On August 3, 2025, he will fly aboard Blue Origin's NS‑34 mission.
This is a short, 11‑minute suborbital flight. It is part of the New Shepard programme. The trip will cross the Kármán line, the internationally recognised edge of space.
He joins five other crew members from around the world on this flight. For him, this flight is the peak of decades of exploration. It is Blue Origin's 14th human flight and its 34th overall mission.
Who is Arvinder "Arvi" Bahal?
Source: Hindustan Times
Arvinder "Arvi" Bahal is an 80-year-old Agra-born real estate investor and lifelong adventurer. A naturalised U.S. citizen who has visited every country, he now joins Blue Origin's NS‑34 suborbital flight experience.
Education
Arvinder "Arvi" Bahal was born on October 13, 1945, in Agra, India, near the Taj Mahal. He joined India's National Defence Academy in 1962 but left after a polo accident that resulted in partial hearing loss.
Career
In the 1970s, Bahal built a garment-manufacturing business near Delhi. He moved to the U.S. in 1975 with just $108 and became a naturalised citizen by 1979. He founded Bahal Properties and expanded into real estate, fashion, and hospitality over the decades.
Personal life
Bahal is married (in 1979), with two children and four grandchildren. He lives in Beverly, Massachusetts.
A devoted Sikh, he speaks six languages, holds a private pilot's licence, flies helicopters, and has visited all 196 countries and both poles, climbed Everest, skydived from the summit of Everest, and visited the Pyramids of Giza.
What is the Blue Origin mission NS‑34?
Source: X
The NS‑34 mission is part of Blue Origin's New Shepard space‑tourism programme. It was the company's 14th human flight and 34th mission overall, launched on August 3, 2025, from Launch Site One (West Texas).
The reusable rocket and crew capsule carried six private citizens—including Arvi Bahal—on a suborbital journey lasting about 10 to 12 minutes.
During this time, the crew passed above the Kármán line (a commonly accepted boundary of space) and experienced several minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth via parachute.
Why is Arvi Bahal flying on it?
We just completed our 14th human spaceflight and the 34th flight of the New Shepard program. The crew included: Arvi Bahal, Gökhan Erdem, Deborah Martorell, Lionel Pitchford, J.D. Russell, and H.E. Justin Sun. To date, New Shepard has flown 75 people to space, including five… pic.twitter.com/ZqBRbNZSZQ
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) August 3, 2025
Bahal has chased exploration his whole life. He once reserved a seat on Virgin Galactic as "Future Astronaut No. 326", but the plan fell through when the company halted operations in 2023.
NS‑34 represents the realisation of a decades‑long dream. His remarkable journey—from visiting every country and both poles to flying an absolute rocket—symbolises that age is no barrier to reaching the stars.
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