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German Engineer Makes History, Becomes First Wheelchair User to Soar to Space
WEST TEXAS – In a monumental leap for accessibility and space exploration, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully launched German aerospace engineer and disability advocate Michaela Benthaus to the edge of space on Saturday. The inspiring 10-minute journey allowed Benthaus, who uses a wheelchair, to experience several exhilarating minutes of weightlessness over 65 miles above Earth.
Benthaus, whose spinal cord injury in a 2018 mountain biking accident led to her wheelchair use, was joined by a retired SpaceX manager and four entrepreneurs aboard the New Shepard capsule. The suborbital flight took them just beyond the internationally recognized boundary of space.
“It was the coolest experience!” Benthaus exclaimed after touchdown, playfully remarking on her upside-down antics in microgravity.
“I didn’t only like the view and the microgravity, but I also liked the going up. That was so cool, every stage of going up.”
Her journey was made possible, in part, by Hans Koenigsmann, a former SpaceX manager and engineer instrumental in the development of the Falcon rocket family. Koenigsmann, a naturalized U.S. citizen and fellow German by birth, met Benthaus online last year and was instrumental in arranging her flight.
“I just asked him, like, you know, you worked for so long for SpaceX, do you think that people like me can be astronauts?” Benthaus recounted in a Blue Origin interview.
“Then he reached out to Blue Origin and told me oh, Blue actually is very excited about it. Okay, I have my doubts on it, but let’s see.
Thankfully it turned out we can do it. So Hans and me (ended) up flying as a team.”
Koenigsmann noted Benthaus’ profound influence: “She basically inspired me to do this. It’s her drive that kind of convinced me I should do that, too, and to just experience something that I’ve seen from the outside for a long time.”
Before liftoff, Benthaus demonstrated remarkable self-sufficiency, transitioning from her wheelchair into the New Shepard capsule with the aid of a special bench provided by Blue Origin. Koenigsmann was seated nearby, ready to assist if needed during the flight.
After a two-day delay due to minor technical issues, the New Shepard launched flawlessly from Blue Origin’s West Texas facility at 9:15 a.m. EST. The single-stage booster rapidly accelerated, reaching nearly three times the speed of sound before its BE-3 engine powered down approximately two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.
The capsule then separated, continuing its ascent on its own, allowing the crew to unstrap and experience the profound sensation of weightlessness. Benthaus, with her legs secured, was also free to revel in the zero-gravity environment as the capsule reached a peak altitude of just over 65 miles. From this vantage point, the Earth’s curvature was distinct, and the sky a deep, inky black, viewed through the largest windows ever flown in space.
Exclamations of “Oh, my God” and “Incredible” filled the capsule as passengers took in the breathtaking panorama.
As the capsule began its descent, the crew was instructed to return to their seats and strap in for the atmospheric re-entry, which subjected them to approximately five times the normal force of gravity. Simultaneously, the reusable booster executed a precise, powered landing on a concrete pad near the launch site.
The New Shepard capsule, descending gently under three large parachutes, touched down in a plume of dust near the booster and launch pad. Blue Origin support staff quickly arrived to assist the jubilant crew.
Joining Benthaus and Koenigsmann on this historic flight were physicist-investor Joey Hyde, entrepreneur Neal Milch, adventurer Jason Stansell, and South African entrepreneur and mining engineer Adonis Pouroulis. All six emerged from the capsule, beaming and waving. Benthaus was the last to exit, carried by Koenigsmann and a recovery team member to her waiting wheelchair.
“You should never give up on your dreams, right?” Benthaus declared post-landing. “I just feel very lucky, and I’m very grateful to Blue and Hans and everyone who said yes to this journey.”
While Blue Origin does not publicly disclose the cost of a New Shepard seat, prices are estimated to be upwards of $500,000. The financing of Benthaus’s seat was not revealed.
Saturday’s mission marked Blue Origin’s 16th crewed New Shepard flight since Jeff Bezos and his brother made the inaugural journey in July 2021. With this flight, Blue Origin has now sent 92 individuals to space, including six who have flown twice.
Benthaus’s flight represents a significant step forward, as she is the first person with a notable physical disability to fly to space. European Space Agency astronaut John McFall, who has a prosthetic leg, has also been selected for a future mission to the International Space Station, signaling a growing commitment to inclusive space travel.
Benthaus shared that the reaction to her flight has been overwhelmingly positive, expressing hope that more individuals with disabilities will have the opportunity to journey into space.
The broader conversation for NASA, other space agencies, and private companies now revolves not just around the ability of astronauts with disabilities to perform tasks in microgravity, but also how they can effectively manage emergencies requiring rapid egress from their spacecraft, both on Earth and in orbit.
In a CNN interview, Benthaus highlighted the importance of considering diverse needs for future long-duration space missions, including potential journeys to Mars. “People can get a disability on the way,” she noted. “People can have a stroke or break their leg or get a spinal cord injury.”
Ultimately, she asserted, “people with disabilities actually bring value to a crew… You develop a very special resilience.”