In a landmark moment for space accessibility, a paraplegic engineer from Germany has become the first wheelchair user to launch to space. Michaela Benthaus, 33, soared into the skies above West Texas on Saturday, 20 December 2025, aboard a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket, leaving her wheelchair on Earth to experience weightlessness.
A Dream Forged from Adversity
Benthaus's journey to space began with a life-altering mountain bike accident seven years ago, which left her with a severe spinal cord injury. She had previously participated in the European Space Agency's graduate trainee programme in the Netherlands and experienced brief weightlessness on a parabolic flight in 2022. However, she believed a trip to space was an impossible dream. "I never really thought that going on a spaceflight would be a real option for me," she confessed to The Associated Press before the flight, noting the competitive nature of astronaut selection even for able-bodied individuals.
Her perspective changed when retired SpaceX executive Hans Koenigsmann, also born in Germany, approached her last year. He proposed a flight with Jeff Bezos's company, Blue Origin, and helped organise and sponsor her historic trip. Benthaus immediately signed on for the opportunity to experience more than three minutes of weightlessness on the suborbital hop.
Engineering for Inclusion
The ten-minute flight required only minor modifications to accommodate Benthaus, a testament to the capsule's accessible design. According to Blue Origin engineer Jake Mills, the autonomous New Shepard was built with inclusivity in mind from the start, "making it more accessible to a wider range of people than traditional spaceflight." The company has previously flown tourists with limited mobility, impaired sight or hearing, and passengers in their nineties.
Key adjustments for Benthaus included:
- A patient transfer board to help her move between the capsule's hatch and her seat.
- An existing elevator at the launch pad to ascend the seven stories to the rocket-top capsule.
- A carpet laid by the recovery team on the desert floor after touchdown, providing immediate access to her wheelchair.
Koenigsmann was designated as her emergency helper and assisted her out of the capsule after landing. However, Benthaus was adamant about doing as much as possible independently.
Paving the Way for a More Accessible Future
This mission was a private endeavour for Benthaus, separate from the European Space Agency. The ESA has, however, cleared British Paralympian and amputee John McFall, a reserve astronaut, for a future mission to the International Space Station. Benthaus's flight represents a significant step towards her goal of improving accessibility not just in space, but on Earth as well.
"I really hope it's opening up for people like me, like I hope I'm only the start," she said, acknowledging that while she receives positive support within the space community, broader societal attitudes towards disability still need to evolve.
The flight, which also carried Koenigsmann and several business executives and investors, brought Blue Origin's total number of space travellers to 86. Founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos in 2000, the company conducted its first passenger flight in 2021 and is now developing larger rockets and lunar landers.
