Lauren Sanchez Plans Party Celebrating Billionaire Boyfriend Jeff Bezos' Space Flight, Source Says

"All of the couple's children" will be at the outdoor bash, says the insider

(L-R) Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos. Photo: Prodip Guha/Getty

Following his out-of-this-world adventure, it's party time for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.

The Amazon billionaire's girlfriend is planning a bash in his honor two weeks after he flew to space and returned to Earth, a source tells PEOPLE.

"Lauren is throwing a party to celebrate Jeff's recent rocket launch," says the insider. "Those coming are close family and friends (Jeff's brother was also on the rocket), including all of the couple's children." (Bezos has three sons and one daughter with ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, while Sanchez has a son with former NFL star Tony Gonzalez and a son and daughter with agent Patrick Whitesell.)

As concerns grow about the rapidly spreading Delta variant of COVID-19, the source says that safety "protocols are being followed."

"Everybody must show proof of vaccination, and the gathering will be held outdoors," the insider adds.

Sanchez, 51, was among loved ones who watched Bezos, 57, launch to space from Van Horn, Texas, on July 20 alongside his brother Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen.

Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos.

Together the four crew members embarked on a 10-minute flight aboard his Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. Bezos' milestone marked the first space flight with humans on board for Blue Origin, the aerospace manufacturing and spaceflight company the billionaire founded in 2000.

When the crew returned to Texas without a hitch, Sanchez welcomed Bezos — with whom she went public in January 2019 — by giving him a big hug and kiss.

"Our family was happy to see us. That's a good sign," Bezos joked during the post-flight press conference. "I wasn't that nervous, but my family was somewhat anxious about this and so it was so sweet actually to get hugged by them after landing, especially my kids and Lauren and my mom and dad and really all of you guys."

"We have a bunch of close friends here too," he added. "It just makes me realize how much I love you and how much I'm loved."

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, a TV anchor turned helicopter pilot.

Mark Bezos, Jeff Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk. Blue Origin/UPI/Shutterstock

The billionaire space race is heating up, as Sir Richard Branson flew to space via his Virgin Galactic service in July, while Elon Musk's SpaceX first sent NASA astronauts to space in 2020.

Critics have questioned whether the billionaires should use their money not on pricey rockets and space vehicles but instead to fix problems plaguing Earth — a topic Bezos addressed in an interview.

"Well, I say they're largely right. We have to do both," Bezos told CNN of 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."