Blue Origin launches six tourists, including first wheelchair user, to space

Jeff Bezos-led Blue Origin on Saturday launched the world’s first wheelchair user to space, marking a significant moment for commercial spaceflight and disability inclusion.

The New Shepard NS-37 mission lifted off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas, carrying German aerospace engineer Michaela “Michi” Benthaus and five other private passengers on a brief suborbital flight beyond the Kármán line, the recognised boundary of space.

The launch had been rescheduled after a Thursday attempt was aborted due to technical issues and high winds. The fully reusable rocket-capsule system completed a 10–12 minute journey, offering the crew a short period of weightlessness and views of Earth from space before landing safely in the Texas desert.

Historic first

Benthaus, who works with the European Space Agency and has used a wheelchair since a spinal cord injury sustained in a mountain-biking accident in 2018, became the first wheelchair user to reach space. Her participation has been widely described as a milestone for accessibility, reinforcing that physical disabilities need not prevent participation in spaceflight.

Mission and crew

The six-member crew also included investors Joey Hyde and Adonis Pouroulis, former SpaceX executive Hans Koenigsmann, entrepreneur Neal Milch and computer scientist Jason Stansell. NS-37 was Blue Origin’s 37th New Shepard mission and the 16th to carry people, taking the total number of individuals flown by the system to over 80.

The capsule touched down safely after about 11 minutes, bringing the mission to a successful close.