Michaela (Michi) Benthaus, an aerospace engineer at the European Space Agency, is set to become the first person who uses a wheelchair to reach space.
ERIC LAGATTA USA TODAY9 minutes ago
A German aerospace engineer could become the first person who uses a wheelchair to reach space when Blue Origin’s next human spaceflight gets off the ground from West Texas.
Michaela (Michi) Benthaus, an aerospace engineer at the European Space Agency, is among six passengers selected to ride on the New Shepard rocket’s 37th spaceflight, scheduled to launch soon. Benthaus has used a wheelchair since 2018 when she suffered a spinal cord injury in a mountain biking accident.
New Shepard is the spacecraft that billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has developed for suborbital missions, most of which since 2021 have carried a crew on short trips above Earth’s atmosphere.
The upcoming launch would be Blue Origin’s first New Shepard human spaceflight in more than two months, and sixth since the company made headlines in April when pop star Katy Perry and CBS News’ Gayle King joined four others on an all-women spaceflight.
The impending trip also comes on the heels of Blue Origin’s latest launch of its massive New Glenn rocket on an uncrewed mission from Florida.
View |14 PhotosBlue Origin astronauts through the years: Jeff Bezos to Michael Strahan
Blue Origin passengers from previous launches: William Shatner to Michael Strahan. Take a look through images.
Here’s everything to know about Blue Origin’s next New Shepard mission, known as NS-37 – the vehicle’s 16th human spaceflight and 37th overall.
When is the next Blue Origin rocket launch in Texas?
Blue Origin’s “barn” is where rocket boosters merge with the capsules that will take passengers into space.
IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE/REUTERS
Blue Origin is working toward a Thursday, Dec. 18, launch of its New Shepard rocket, with the spacecraft targeted to get off the ground at 9:30 a.m. ET, the company announced.
A Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory suggests a backup opportunity is available the next day if the launch were to be postponed.
Where are Blue Origin New Shepard launches?
Blue Origin launches New Shepard from the company’s private ranch facility known as Launch Site One in Texas, located north of the town Van Horn near the U.S.-Mexico border.
How to watch Blue Origin livestream of New Shepard rocket launch
Blue Origin will provide a webcast of the launch beginning about 40 minutes ahead of the scheduled liftoff on its website and on social media site X.
1st wheelchair user could reach space on next Blue Origin rocket launch
Benthaus, an aerospace engineer at the European Space Agency, is set to become the first person who uses a wheelchair to reach space on the mission.
In 2018, Benthaus injured her spine in a mountain biking accident that made her unable to walk, according to Blue Origin.
“I thought my dream of going to space had ended forever when I had my accident,” Benthaus said in an Aug. 12 post on Instagram. “I’m so thankful and hope it inspires a change in mindset across the space industry, creating more opportunities for people like me.”
Who is the crew of the next Blue Origin mission?
When the New Shepard gets off the ground again, the six people selected to board it will join 80 others who have flown on the spacecraft across 15 previous human spaceflights, including six repeat passengers.
In addition to Benthaus, here’s a look at the other five passengers selected for a mission known as NS-37:
- Joey Hyde, a physicist and hedge fund investor from Florida
- Hans Koenigsmann, a German-American aerospace engineer who spent two decades working with SpaceX
- Neal Milch, a business executive and entrepreneur who chairs the board of the Jackson Laboratory, a nonprofit biomedical research institute
- Adonis Pouroulis, an entrepreneur and investor working in the natural resources and energy sector
- Jason Stansell, an adventurer from west Texas with a passion for rocketry and space
Does Jeff Bezos own Blue Origin?
Jeff Bezos receives his official astronaut wings after launching on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
EMRE KELLY, FLORIDA TODAY
Billionaire Jeff Bezos, best known for founding Amazon, founded the private space technology company Blue Origin in 2000. Headquartered in Washington state, Blue Origin conducts tests and launches of its small New Shepard spacecraft from West Texas.
What is New Shepard?
New Shepard is Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket that the company primarily uses to transport crews of up to six people on short trips to the edge of space.
Bezos even boarded Blue Origin’s New Shepard for its maiden crewed voyage in July 2021, which came after the spacecraft flew on 15 flight tests beginning in 2012.
What is New Glenn?
The smaller, suborbital New Shepard vehicle is not to be confused with Blue Origin’s towering orbital New Glenn rocketthat has now launched twice from Florida. The 322-foot spacecraft, one of the largest active rockets in the world, last got off the ground Nov. 13 on a mission to propel twin NASA ESCAPADE satellites on a voyage to Mars.
While New Shepard is designed for quick trips to space, New Glenn is indicative of Blue Origin’s aim to compete with billionaire Elon Musk‘s SpaceX – whose fleet of Falcon 9 rockets dominates the commercial space industry.
Katy Perry, William Shatner among big names to board New Shepard
On April 14, a star-studded, all-women Blue Origin mission that included singer Katy Perry and Gayle King, co-host of “CBS Mornings” got off the ground from Launch Site One.
But the women – including Bezos’ now-wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos, an Emmy Award-winning journalist – were not the first big-name stars to take their fame into orbit.
In 2021, “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and NFL legend Michael Strahan boarded the New Shepard on separate flights.
Shatner, who was 90 at the time, embarked on his voyage Oct. 13 that year, becoming the oldest person to ever make a spaceflight. Strahan’s spaceflight then came toward the end of 2021 on Dec. 11, when he flew with a crew that included Laura Shepard Churchley, Alan Shepard’s daughter.
What happens during a New Shepard rocket launch?
A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket lifts off with a crew of six on Dec. 11, 2021.
JOE SKIPPER/REUTERS
Each spaceflight on a New Shepard vehicle lasts about 11 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown.
Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, the 60-foot-tall New Shepard rocket is topped with the gum drop-shaped crew capsule. The spacecraft operates completely autonomously, meaning no pilots are aboard.
During its ascent, the spacecraft reaches supersonic speeds surpassing 2,000 mph before the rocket booster separates from the crew capsule. At that point, the capsule becomes weightless as the spacecraft continues toward its highest point on its brief voyage above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space.
If it’s a mission with people on board, passengers will at this time experience a few minutes of microgravity after they unstrap themselves from their seats to gaze out the capsule’s large windows and take in a stunning view of Earth.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard crew capsule returns to Earth April 14 following a launch from Launch Site One in Van Horn, Texas. Blue Origin’s Mission … Show more
JUSTIN HAMEL/GETTY IMAGES
Meanwhile, the rocket booster heads back to the ground while firing its engines and using its fins to slow and control its descent to land vertical about two miles from the launchpad.
The capsule itself eventually begins what Blue Origin refers to as a “stable freefall” – plummeting back to Earth as three massive parachutes deploy and the capsule makes a soft landing in the desert, sending up plumes of dust.
How much does it cost to ride Blue Origin?
If you have dreams of blasting off to orbit on a Blue Origin spacecraft, you likely need to either have very deep pockets or a name that’s recognizable enough to get you invited as an honored guest.
Though Blue Origin does not publicly list prices on its website, a form to reserve a seat requires customers to agree to a $150,000 deposit.
And if the price of the first ticket sold for a Blue Origin spaceflight in 2021 is any indicator, seats likely cost millions of dollars. The $28 million ticket price was the winning bid in an auction that included 7,600 people registered to bid from 159 countries.
However, a select few passengers over the years have had their seats aboard New Shepard paid through grants and other funding methods from large institutions.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
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