A German engineer, Michaela Benthaus, has made history as the first wheelchair user to reach space, as part of a Blue Origin suborbital flight led by Jeff Bezos’ space company.
The New Shepard rocket launched at 8:15 AM (1415 GMT) from Blue Origin’s Texas site, carrying Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer with the European Space Agency.
During the roughly 10-minute flight, she crossed the Karman Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.
Benthaus, who now uses a wheelchair after suffering a spinal cord injury in a mountain biking accident, shared her thoughts on the experience.
In a video released by Blue Origin, she reflected on how her accident made her realize the world’s ongoing inaccessibility for people with disabilities: “If we want to be an inclusive society, we should be inclusive in every part, not just the parts we like to be,” she said.
The fully automated New Shepard rocket took off vertically, and the capsule carrying the tourists detached during the flight before gently descending back to the Texas desert, slowed by parachutes.
This was Blue Origin’s 16th crewed flight, marking another milestone in its pursuit of space tourism. The price of these flights remains undisclosed, but the company has attracted high-profile figures, including Katy Perry and William Shatner, as part of its strategy to keep public interest high in the growing commercial space travel market.
Following the flight, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman shared his praise on X, saying, “Congratulations, Michi! You just inspired millions to look up and imagine what is possible.”
While Virgin Galactic also offers suborbital flights, Blue Origin aims to compete with SpaceX in the orbital flight market. The company has already successfully completed two uncrewed orbital missions this year using its much larger and more powerful New Glenn rocket.
