Michaela Benthaus Became the First Wheelchair User to Travel to Space and Back

Michaela Benthaus Became the First Wheelchair User to Travel to Space and Back - Photo Credits: Blue Origin

A German engineer using a wheelchair blasted off Saturday on a suborbital rocket flight, becoming the first person with such a disability to experience weightlessness in space.

Michaela Benthaus (also known as Michi Benthaus), 33, launched from West Texas aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule along with five other passengers for a 10-minute trip that carried them more than 65 miles above Earth.

Benthaus, a paraplegic since a 2018 mountain biking accident that injured her spinal cord, works as an aerospace and mechatronics engineer with the European Space Agency's graduate trainee program in the Netherlands.

The autonomous capsule required minor modifications for her, including a patient transfer board to help her move from the hatch to her seat and a carpet unrolled on the desert floor after landing for quick wheelchair access.

A German Engineer, "Michaela Benthaus," Becomes First Wheelchair User to Reach Space on Blue Origin Flight - Photo Credits: Blue Origin

She left her wheelchair at the launch site and practiced the procedures in advance.

The flight, delayed two days by technical issues, lifted off at 9:15 a.m. EST under clear skies, with the booster reaching nearly three times the speed of sound before engine shutdown about two and a half minutes later.

The capsule then coasted upward, allowing the crew to unstrap and float freely for more than three minutes as it peaked slightly above 65 miles, where the sky appears black and Earth's horizon curves sharply.

Benthaus had her legs strapped together during weightlessness but moved about the cabin, which features the largest windows ever flown in space.

"It was the coolest experience," she said shortly after landing.

She laughed during ascent and tried turning upside down in space, later adding that she enjoyed the view, microgravity and each stage of the climb.

The capsule descended under three parachutes, touching down in dust near the launch pad about 10 and a half minutes after liftoff, while the reusable booster landed separately on a nearby concrete pad.

Blue Origin personnel helped the crew exit, with Benthaus carried out last by fellow passenger Hans Koenigsmann and a recovery team member to a waiting wheelchair.

Koenigsmann, a retired SpaceX executive born in Germany, organized and sponsored her seat after meeting her last year, serving as her emergency assistant during the mission.

The other passengers included physicist and investor Joey Hyde, business executive Neal Milch, entrepreneur and mining engineer Adonis Pouroulis, and computer scientist Jason Stansell.

Benthaus previously experienced brief weightlessness on a 2022 parabolic airplane flight from Houston and participated in a two-week simulated space mission in Poland.

"You should never give up on your dreams, right?" Benthaus urged following touchdown.

The private mission, unrelated to the European Space Agency, marked Blue Origin's 16th crewed New Shepard flight since founder Jeff Bezos' inaugural passenger trip in 2021, bringing the company's total space travelers to 92.

Ticket prices remain undisclosed, though seats typically cost upward of $500,000 each.

So, Michaela Benthaus is the first women wheelchair user who traveled to space and came back safely at first attempt.