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On December 20, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-37 carried German aerospace and mechatronics engineer Michaela “Michi” Benthaus above the Kármán line, the boundary commonly used to mark the start of outer space. She became the first wheelchair user to make that crossing. The flight launched from Launch Site One in West Texas and was suborbital—not an orbital journey or a trip to the International Space Station.
What happened on Blue Origin’s NS-37 flight?
NS-37 was the 37th flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard program. Its reusable rocket-and-capsule system carried six people on a brief ascent above the Kármán line before returning to Earth. Blue Origin lists the crew as Benthaus, Joey Hyde, Hans Koenigsmann, Neal Milch, Adonis Pouroulis and Jason Stansell. Blue Origin’s mission page records the flight and Benthaus’s milestone.
The launch had initially been targeted for December 18, 2025. Blue Origin said it stood down after an issue arose during preflight built-in checks; the mission launched successfully two days later. The company described NS-37 as its ninth New Shepard flight of 2025. At the time of the mission, Blue Origin reported that the program had flown 92 people, representing 86 individuals. Those are company-reported totals for that date, not a current count. Blue Origin’s mission announcement gives the chronology and program context.
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Benthaus is a German aerospace and mechatronics engineer associated with the European Space Agency (ESA) and AstroAccess, an organization focused on disability inclusion in spaceflight. She uses a wheelchair after a serious mountain-bike accident, according to the Associated Press. Her engineering background and accessibility advocacy are part of the significance of her participation: the flight was not simply a symbolic passenger seat, but a demonstration involving a spacecraft, facilities and procedures adapted for a wheelchair user.
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NS-37 was a private Blue Origin flight, not an ESA mission. Benthaus’s milestone should also be stated narrowly: she was the first wheelchair user to fly above the Kármán line. It does not establish that she was the first person with any disability to go to space.
What does “travel to space” mean on New Shepard?
Blue Origin describes the Kármán line as about 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth. New Shepard crosses that boundary, gives passengers a short period of weightlessness, and returns to Earth under parachutes. That is suborbital spaceflight: the capsule goes above the boundary but does not attain the speed needed to keep falling around Earth in orbit. Blue Origin’s New Shepard flight page describes the vehicle and flight profile.
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- Suborbital flight: A brief arc above the Kármán line followed by descent.
- Orbital flight: A spacecraft travels fast enough to circle Earth continuously.
- Space-station mission: An orbital flight that also requires rendezvous and docking with a station.
So “first wheelchair user in space” is understandable shorthand, but “first wheelchair user to cross the Kármán line” is more precise. NS-37 was not a long-duration orbital mission.
How did Blue Origin accommodate a wheelchair user?
Blue Origin says New Shepard was designed with accessibility in mind and highlights autonomous vehicle operation and elevator access on the launch tower. The company also points to previous participation by people with varied access needs, including wheelchair users and people with limited mobility, limb differences, hearing loss or low vision. Its NS-37 announcement describes those features.
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GeekWire reported further mission-specific adaptations, including an elevator for the climb to the capsule and a bench used to assist Benthaus when transferring into and out of the vehicle. These details illustrate that accessibility involved ground access and transfer support, not just the capsule itself. They do not establish that every wheelchair type or support need can be accommodated. GeekWire’s coverage reports the launch-site and transfer details.
Public accounts of NS-37 do not provide a complete eligibility checklist for future passengers or standardized procedures for every disability. They also do not establish how the vehicle handles all wheelchair configurations, medical equipment, transfer needs or emergency scenarios. The flight shows that access was achieved for this mission; it is not proof of universal accessibility.
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Why does the flight matter—and what does it not prove?
Human spaceflight has often been designed around narrow assumptions about who can participate. Barriers can arise from spacecraft layout, launch-site infrastructure, medical screening and crew procedures. Benthaus’s flight is a concrete example of a wheelchair user participating in commercial human spaceflight with adaptations to the vehicle experience and its ground operations.
It is one milestone, not a finished accessibility standard. Questions about eligibility, seating and restraint, assistance during launch and landing, emergency evacuation, medical equipment and individualized screening remain important for prospective passengers. The public information about NS-37 does not answer those questions for every disability or support requirement.
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The record is also distinct from ESA’s work with John McFall, an amputee involved in the agency’s astronaut-selection and medical-clearance work toward a possible orbital pathway. That is a different disability category and mission context, not the same record as Benthaus’s suborbital crossing. The Associated Press discusses that distinction.
Can other people book a New Shepard flight?
Blue Origin maintains a Fly to Space page with a seat-reservation pathway and information about the experience, including a two-day on-site astronaut-training program. The page reviewed for this article did not display a current public ticket price. A $28 million figure often associated with New Shepard was the winning bid for the first seat auction in 2021, not a current standard fare; see Blue Origin’s auction announcement.
Booking a seat should not be treated as a routine travel purchase. Availability, screening, training, launch timing and accessibility arrangements require direct confirmation with Blue Origin. The NS-37 flight does not by itself guarantee that a particular prospective passenger will qualify or that their needs can be accommodated.
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