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In a landmark achievement, a German engineer has become the first wheelchair user to journey into space.
Michaela Benthaus, who sustained a spinal cord injury seven years ago in a mountain biking accident, reached out to a retired space engineer online to explore the possibility of realizing her astronautical aspirations.
The engineer subsequently facilitated the historic 10-minute flight aboard a Blue Origin spacecraft, the space tourism venture founded by Jeff Bezos.
Ms. Benthaus, along with five other individuals, launched from Texas on Saturday, ascending to an altitude just beyond the Kármán line, the recognized boundary of space.
“It was the coolest experience!” she exclaimed in a video shared by Blue Origin following the landing.
“I didn’t only like the view and the micro-gravity, but I also liked going up. That was so cool, every stage of going up.”
Blue Origin’s New Shepard, a reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle, lifted off from the company’s Texas launch site at 14:15 GMT.
Ms. Benthaus, who is employed by the European Space Agency, noted that she had “really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is” for individuals with disabilities following her accident.
She independently transferred from her wheelchair into the capsule, utilizing a bench extending from the hatch.
Hans Koenigsmann, the retired SpaceX manager who assisted in organizing the trip, was positioned nearby to provide assistance during the flight if needed.
“I met Hans the first time online,” Ms. Benthaus stated. “I just asked him, like, you know, you worked for so long for SpaceX, do you think that people like me can be astronauts?”
Koenigsmann commented that Ms. Benthaus “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,” he said.
Blue Origin stated that ground support equipment was added to facilitate Ms. Benthaus’s entry and exit from the capsule.
“Michi’s flight is particularly meaningful, demonstrating that space is for everyone, and we are proud to help her achieve this dream,” said Phil Joyce, senior vice-president of New Shepard.
The cost of the mission, which marks Blue Origin’s 16th suborbital space tourism launch, has not been disclosed.
The company has transported numerous tourists to space. In April, pop star Katy Perry, Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez, and CBS presenter Gayle King were among six women launched into space aboard a Blue Origin rocket for an approximate 11-minute flight.
These high-profile flights occur amidst fierce competition among private space companies vying for dominance in the burgeoning space tourism sector.
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