Michaela Benthaus, a 33-year-old german engineer, became the first wheelchair-using woman to travel to space. The event occurred on December 20, 2025, at the Blue Origin facilities near Van Horn, Texas, USA. The woman made a suborbital spaceflight aboard the New Shepard capsule, crossing the Kármán line at an altitude of 100 kilometers.
The project that enabled this spaceflight was the Blue Origin NS-37 mission. This mission is part of the company’s efforts to expand space access to a diverse public. The spaceflight for the woman with a disability lasted approximately ten minutes.
Who is Michaela Benthaus?
Michaela Benthaus is an aerospace and mechatronics engineer who works on a program for the European Space Agency. The woman sustained a spinal cord injury in a 2018 cycling accident, which led her to use a wheelchair for mobility.
The woman combined her technical work with advocacy for accessibility in the scientific field. Before the spaceflight, Benthaus had already participated in parabolic flights to experience weightlessness as part of inclusion initiatives.
Spaceflight in the “New Shepard” capsule
The spaceflight took place in the “New Shepard” capsule, designed for autonomous suborbital flights. The spacecraft did not require major structural modifications, as it was developed with accessibility standards.
For the inclusion of the woman with a disability, adaptations such as a transfer board and an elevator in the launch tower were implemented. The crew, composed of six people, experienced about three minutes of weightlessness during the spaceflight.
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Hans Koenigsmann, a former SpaceX executive, traveled with the woman and received training to provide assistance if necessary. This spaceflight brought the total number of people Blue Origin has taken to space to 86.
Who sponsored the flight?
The company that sponsored and executed the spaceflight was Blue Origin, the company founded by Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin operates the “New Shepard” vehicle and described this spaceflight as a step toward universal accessibility.
The inclusion of the woman with a disability on this spaceflight aligns with the company’s stated goal of expanding access to space. Blue Origin has previously taken individuals with limited mobility or sensory disabilities, as well as older adults, to space.
Significance of Michaela Benthaus becoming the first wheelchair-using woman to travel to space
This woman’s spaceflight sets a precedent by being the first wheelchair-using person to cross Earth’s atmosphere. The event shifts historical paradigms in the industry, which maintained medical and regulatory barriers for people with disabilities.
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The mission demonstrates the technical feasibility of inclusion in spaceflight with specific adaptations. This spaceflight may influence the redesign of future medical and safety regulations to broaden the profiles accepted for space exploration. Michaela Benthaus’s spaceflight represents a tangible advancement for inclusion within the aerospace sector.
The woman with a disability demonstrated the concrete possibility of participating in a spaceflight. This event lays the groundwork for inclusion to be a criterion in the design of future space missions. The spaceflight helps expand the definition of who can access space.
