German engineer Michaela Benthaus becomes the first wheelchair user to cross the Karman line, highlighting inclusivity in space exploration.
HOUSTON: A German engineer has become the first wheelchair user to travel to space.
Michaela Benthaus, an aerospace engineer with the European Space Agency, was a passenger on a Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital flight on Saturday.
The flight launched from Texas at 8:15 am local time, crossing the internationally recognised Karman line during its 10-minute journey.
Benthaus, who uses a wheelchair following a spinal cord injury from a mountain biking accident, said the world remains inaccessible for people with disabilities.
“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,” she said in a company video.
The fully automated rocket took off vertically before its passenger capsule detached and descended back to the Texas desert using parachutes.
This was the 16th crewed flight for Jeff Bezos’s space tourism company, which does not publicly disclose ticket prices.
New NASA chief Jared Isaacman congratulated Benthaus on social media, saying she had “inspired millions to look up and imagine what is possible.”
Dozens of people have flown with Blue Origin, including celebrities like pop singer Katy Perry and actor William Shatner.
The high-profile flights aim to maintain public interest as private space companies compete for prominence.
Virgin Galactic offers a similar suborbital experience, while Blue Origin also aims to compete with SpaceX in the orbital market.
Blue Origin successfully conducted two uncrewed orbital flights this year using its more powerful New Glenn rocket.
