Michi Benthaus Becomes the First Wheelchair User to Reach Space Through NS-37

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has successfully logged its 37th mission and 16th human spaceflight. Among the six-person crew was Michaela “Michi” Benthaus, who officially became the first wheelchair user to reach space and fulfilled yet another exciting first for commercial space travel.

33-year-old Michi Benthaus is a German space engineer and a Young Graduate Trainee at the European Space Agency (ESA). She has used a wheelchair since sustaining a spinal cord injury in a mountain biking accident in 2018. But rather than letting that get in the way of her aerospace ambitions, she used it to strengthen her commitment and aim higher.

Her dreams came to fruition with Blue Origin’s NS-37 mission, which launched from the company’s Launch Site One facility near Van Horn, Texas, on December 18. Benthaus was joined on NS-37 by a mix of scientists, executives, and private individuals, including physicist and investor Joey Hyde, former SpaceX engineer Hans Koenigsmann, biomedical executive Neal Milch, entrepreneur Adonis Pouroulis, and Texas-based adventurer Jason Stansell.

This was Blue Origin’s first crewed New Shepard mission in more than two months and the sixth overall this year. It follows a high-profile April mission that featured an all-women crew and a more recent uncrewed New Glenn orbital launch from Florida.

“This feels like an important step since space travel for people with disabilities is still in its very early days,” read a post from Benthaus’s social media. “I’m so thankful and hope it inspires a change in mindset across the space industry, creating more opportunities for people like me. I might be the first—but have no intention of being the last.”

FMI: www.blueorigin.com