Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, is now an astronaut.
The Amazon founder, 57, blasted off in his New Shepard rocket at 9:12 a.m. ET Tuesday from West Texas on his company Blue Origin’s first commercial flight.
“Best day ever!” said Bezos, who was strapped into seat No. 6, after completing his dream-come-true trip.
Pairing his spacesuit with a cowboy hat, an exuberant Bezos climbed out of the capsule to embrace his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, with the buzzing crowd popping champagne bottles in celebration.
He was followed out of the aircraft by his younger brother, 53-year-old Mark Bezos, whom he invited on the trip.
The Bezos brothers were joined on the out-of-this-world trip by fellow crew members Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate from the Netherlands, and 82-year-old space pioneer Wally Funk — who made history becoming the youngest and oldest to ever soar into space.
Jeff Bezos exits Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard capsule after returning safely from space.After the pod landed safely in a field in Texas, a team member told the newly minted astronauts, “Welcome back to Earth … congratulations to all of you.” (NYPost)