Michaela Benthaus becomes first wheelchair user in space on Blue Origin flight

Michaela Benthaus makes history on Blue Origin flight

German engineer Michaela Benthaus became the first wheelchair user to travel into space on Saturday, completing a short Blue Origin flight.

The US multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos's space company sent its New Shepard suborbital mission aloft from its Texas launch site at 8:15 am (1415 GMT).

Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer with the European Space Agency, was one of the passengers who crossed the Karman line - the internationally recognised edge of space - during the roughly 10-minute journey.

Accessible space travel

Following a mountain-biking accident, Benthaus sustained a spinal cord injury and now uses a wheelchair.

"After my accident, I really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is" for people with disabilities, she said in a video published by the company.

"If we want to be an inclusive society, we should be inclusive in every part, and not only in the parts we like to be," Benthaus added.

The compact, fully automated rocket launched vertically. Its tourist capsule then separated during flight and returned gently to the Texas desert, with parachutes slowing its descent.

Blue Origin's space tourism ambitions

The mission was Blue Origin's 16th crewed flight. For years, the company has sold space tourism trips aboard its New Shepard rocket, although it does not disclose the price.

"Congratulations, Michi! You just inspired millions to look up and imagine what is possible," new NASA chief Jared Isaacman wrote on X.

Dozens of people have flown into space with Blue Origin, among them pop star Katy Perry and William Shatner, who portrayed the iconic Captain Kirk in "Star Trek."

Such prominent passengers are intended to sustain public attention in the flights as private space firms compete for dominance.

Virgin Galactic provides a comparable suborbital flight experience.

However, Blue Origin also aims to challenge Elon Musk's SpaceX in the orbital launch market.

This year, Bezos's company completed two successful uncrewed orbital missions with its huge New Glenn rocket, which is considerably more powerful than New Shepard.

© Agence France-Presse