Breaking Barriers: Wheelchair Engineer Makes History in Space
German engineer Michaela Benthaus makes history on a Blue Origin flight, becoming the first wheelchair user to reach space in a powerful 10-minute mission.
A German engineer has become the world's first wheelchair user to travel to space.
Michaela Benthos, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a mountain biking accident seven years ago, contacted a retired space engineer online to find out if her dream of becoming an astronaut was still possible.
She then helped organize the historic 10-minute flight with Blue Origin, the space tourism company founded by Jeff Bezos.
Ms. Benthos and five others lifted off from Texas on Saturday and reached a point just above the so-called "edge" of space, known as the Kármán line.
"It was the most amazing experience!" she said after landing, in a video shared by Blue Origin.
"I loved not only the view and the microgravity, but I also loved going up. That was so amazing, every stage of going up."
Blue Origin's reusable suborbital launch vehicle, New Shepard, lifted off from the company's Texas launch pad at 14:15 GMT.
Ms. Benthos, who works for the European Space Agency, said that since her accident she has "really, really understood how inaccessible our world still is for people with disabilities."
She transferred herself into the capsule from her wheelchair using a bench that extended from the hatch.
Hans Koenigsmann, the retired SpaceX manager who helped organize the trip, was strapped into a seatbelt nearby to provide assistance during the flight if needed.
"I first met Hans online. I just asked him, like, you know, you've worked for SpaceX for so long, do you think people like me can become astronauts?" Ms. Benthos said. Koenigsmann said that Ms. Benthos "actually inspired me to do this." He said, "It was her enthusiasm that convinced me that I should do this too, and experience something I had been watching from the sidelines for so long."
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Blue Origin said ground support equipment was added to help Ms. Benthaus get in and out of the capsule.
"Michi's flight is especially meaningful, demonstrating that space is for everyone, and we are proud to have helped her fulfill this dream," said Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President of New Shepard.
The cost of the mission, which was Blue Origin's 16th suborbital space tourism launch, was not disclosed.
The company has already taken dozens of tourists into space. In April, pop star Katy Perry, Bezos's fiancée Lauren Sánchez, and CBS presenter Gayle King were among six women who flew to space on a Blue Origin rocket in a flight that lasted about 11 minutes.
These high-profile flights are taking place at a time when private space companies are fiercely competing for dominance in space tourism.
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