WhenJeff Bezoslanded safely back on earth following his first foray into space, he had a whole squad of cheerleaders ready to welcome him back home — and none were more excited thangirlfriend Lauren Sanchez.
Bezos, 57, touched back down in Texas after taking a10-minute flight aboard the New Shepard rocketTuesday morning, and there to help celebrate his return was a group of loved ones, including Sanchez, his mom Jacklyn, and his children.
Sanchez, 51, could be seen jumping up and down and cheering just before the capsule’s door was opened and Bezos stepped back on earth alongside his brother Mark and fellow space travelersWally FunkandOliver Daemen.
When the Amazon founder emerged, he high-fived a crew member, then wrapped his mother, Jacklyn, in a hug and kissed her cheek.
Next up was Sanchez and his son, whom he greeted with a kiss and a big group hug. An excited Sanchez was seen kissing her billionaire beau, with whom she went public in January 2019, on the cheek multiple times as he pulled her close.
(L-R) Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos.Prodip Guha/Getty
After greeting Bezos, Sanchez also offered congratulations to Daemen, the youngest person to ever travel into space at 18 years old, and Funk, the oldest at 82 years old.
“You gotta get up there, sweetheart!” Funk told Sanchez as she pulled her in for a hug.
The mission was thefirst space flight with humans on boardforBlue Origin, the aerospace manufacturing and spaceflight company the billionaire founded in 2000.
Mark Bezos, Jeff Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk.Blue Origin/UPI/Shutterstock
The billionaire space race has been heating up, as SirRichard Branson flew to space via his Virgin Galactic service last week, whileElon Musk’s SpaceXfirst sent NASA astronauts to space in 2020. As the launches make headlines, critics have questioned whether the billionaires should use their money not on pricey rockets and space vehicles but instead to address problems plaguing Earth — a topic Bezos addressed during an interview with CNN on Monday.
“Well, I say they’re largely right. We have to do both,” Bezos toldCNNof the criticism 24 hours before his launch. “We have lots of problems here and now on Earth and we need to work on those, and we always need to look to the future. We’ve always done that as a species, as a civilization. We have to do both.”
“Thank you Amelia, wherever you are,” Bezos said. “We hope you’re watching all of this.”
Blue Origin launch.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
He also announced a new philanthropic initiative called the Courage and Civility Award, for which recipients will win $100 million to be put toward charities and nonprofits of their choice.
Bezos said those who win the prize money will be “people who have demonstrated courage” and “leaders who aim high and pursue solutions with courage.” The first two recipients are Chef José Andrés and political commentator Van Jones.
source: people.com
