German woman becomes first wheelchair-bound person in space: 'You should never give up on your dreams'
A 33-year-old woman from Germany has become the first person in a wheelchair to reach space. She participated in a flight organized by the company Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
The cost of the tickets has not been made public. PHOTO: X/@blueorigin
An engineer by profession, Michaela Benthaus embarked on a historic journey on Saturday with the New Shepard rocket, along with five other passengers. She left her wheelchair on the ground to admire the Earth from high altitude in a flight that lasted about 10 minutes, reports NBC News.
Badly injured in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, Michaela Benthaus was launched from west Texas, accompanied by Hans Koenigsmann, a former SpaceX executive who helped organize the mission and co-sponsored it with Blue Origin. The cost of the tickets has not been made public.
The woman said the experience was overwhelming. “I laughed the whole way and tried to flip upside down in space. It was the coolest experience,” she said.
According to the company, the flight required only minor adjustments to accommodate the passenger's needs. The autonomous New Shepard capsule was designed from the ground up with accessibility features, making it easier for people with disabilities to use, explained a Blue Origin engineer involved in crew training.
For Michaela, the company installed a transfer plate to allow movement between the hatch and the wheelchair, and after landing, the recovery team spread a carpet on the ground to give her immediate access to the chair. An elevator was already installed at the launch pad that goes up to the capsule at the top of the rocket.
In the past, Michaela participated in a parabolic flight in 2022 in Houston, and later participated in a two-week simulated space mission in Poland. She is currently participating in a European Space Agency graduate internship program in the Netherlands.
“I never thought that spaceflight would be a real option for me because, even for an extremely healthy person, it's a very tough competition,” Benthaus declared before the flight.
After the accident, her hopes seemed dashed: “There is no precedent for people with disabilities flying in space.” The mission was a private one, without the involvement of the European Space Agency.
Due to her spinal cord injury, Michaela cannot walk at all, which is why Hans Koenigsmann was assigned to help her. He and Jake Mills, an engineer, helped her out of the capsule and down the steps after landing.
“You should never give up on your dreams” Benthaus said.
The flight brought to 86 the total number of people who have reached space with Blue Origin. The company was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos and made the first passenger space flight in 2021, currently developing projects for orbital missions and future landings.
