On Saturday, December 20, the American aerospace company Blue Origin launched its 37th rocket as part of the New Shepard program. This mission was the first time that a person in a wheelchair crossed the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space. This was reported on the company’s website.
Among the crew of six was Michaela Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer.
ABC News wrote that in 2018, she had a mountain bike accident and suffered a spinal cord injury. Since then, the woman has been moving in a wheelchair.
A few days before the flight, Benthaus said that she was happy to show the world that wheelchair users can also make a suborbital flight.
The company says New Shepard was designed with accessibility in mind — the vehicle is autonomous and equipped with an elevator on the launch tower.
In addition to Michaela Benthaus, the Kármán Line has been crossed by physicist and investor Joey Hyde, entrepreneurs Neil Milch and Adonis Pouroulis, space enthusiast Jason Stansell, and aerospace engineer Hans Koenigsmann, who previously worked for Blue Origin’s competitor, billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Blue Origin has already sent 86 people to space and back under the New Shepard program. Among them were American celebrities.
Such flights last about 10-12 minutes, from launch to capsule landing. Blue Origin does not disclose the price of a ticket.