Sky's No Limit: Wheelchair User Flies To Space For The First Time

A person who uses a wheelchair blasted off into space for the first time Saturday, taking a brief ride on a Blue Origin flight.

Michaela Benthaus, a German aerospace and mechatronics engineer at the European Space Agency, was among the passengers to cross the Karman line, the internationally recognised boundary of space, during the approximately 10-minute flight.

Benthaus suffered a spinal cord injury after a mountain biking accident and now uses a wheelchair.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on Whatsapp Channels

"After my accident, I really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is" for people with disabilities, she said in a video released 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 space company owned by American multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos launched its New Shepard suborbital mission at 8:15 am (1415 GMT) from its site in Texas.

The small, fully automated rocket took off vertically, and the capsule carrying the tourists then detached in flight before gently descending back to the Texas desert, slowed by parachutes.

It was the 16th crewed flight for Blue Origin, which has for years offered space tourism flights -- the price isn't public -- using its New Shepard rocket.

Among the dozens who have flown to space with Blue Origin are pop star Katy Perry and William Shatner, known for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek.

These high-profile guests are aimed at maintaining public interest in the flights at a time when private space companies are vying for pre-eminence.

This year the Bezos company successfully carried out two uncrewed orbital flights using its massive New Glenn rocket, which is significantly more powerful than New Shepard.

MENAFN20122025000049011007ID1110506634