Jeff Bezos received a letter from John Glenn the day he died

On Thursday, Smithsonian Magazine held its annual American Ingenuity Awards, in which Amazon.com and Blue Origins founder Jeff Bezos received the Technology Award for Breakthroughs for his work creating a reusable rocket. During the ceremony, he received a letter from astronaut John Glenn, who died earlier that day.

In his letter, dated November 28th, Glenn praised Bezos for the award and noted that he was “deeply touched” that the next generation of Blue Origin rockets would be named after him. “As the original Glenn, I can tell you I see the day coming when people will board spacecraft the same way millions of us now board jetliners. When that happens, it will be largely because of your epic achievements this year.”

Astronaut Mae Jemison read the letter aloud, noting that it was a bittersweet occasion. The letter was framed and presented to Bezos during the ceremony.