The space flight aboard Blue Origin was an important step for inclusivity in private space initiatives
Mikaela Benthaus, a 33-year-old citizen of Germany, made history by becoming the first woman with a disability to travel to space. This event took place on December 20, when she participated in a suborbital mission by Blue Origin.
On board the New Shepard spacecraft, the flight lasted about 11 minutes, during which the capsule ascended to an altitude of over 100 kilometers, crossing the boundary of space. The mission participants were able to experience weightlessness for a short time before the craft successfully landed back on Earth.
Mikaela Benthaus works as an engineer at the European Space Agency. She sustained a spinal cord injury in 2018 after falling from a mountain bike and has been using a wheelchair since then. Despite this, she continues to work in the aerospace field and has now become part of this historic flight.
Blue Origin emphasized that this mission was not only about suborbital tourism but also about making space accessible to people with various physical abilities. In designing the New Shepard cabin, engineers took into account minimal physical strain for passengers and a high degree of automation.
The mission crew consisted of six people. In addition to Benthaus, there was a former German aerospace engineer and four American entrepreneurs on board. The flight was part of a series of crewed launches by Blue Origin that began in 2021 and continue in a suborbital format.
Experts note that the participation of people with disabilities in such missions could lead to a reevaluation of medical and technical standards for future commercial and scientific flights, as well as expand the understanding of human capabilities in space.
