Blue Origin’s NS-37 mission on Dec. 18 aims to send the first wheelchair user to space. Aerospace engineer Michaela “Michi” Benthaus joins five other crew members on the reusable New Shepard for a brief suborbital flight above the Kármán line.
Blue Origin’s NS-37 sends Michi Benthaus on a historic suborbital flight.
Photo Credit: Space.com
Blue Origin has planned to lift off its NS-37 mission on December 18 with the intention of making a historic milestone by sending a spaceflight to a person in a wheelchair. New Shepard, their suborbital vessel, is the one that will be used in this case. The flight, which is planned to start at about 9.30 a.m. EST, will be in West Texas. The area above the Karkman line will be where the six passengers on the short trip will have their several minutes of weightlessness before making a return to the ground.
According to reports, Michaela "Michi" Benthaus, an aerospace engineer, is going to be the first person in a wheelchair to travel into space if the flight is successful. After a spinal cord injury in 2018, Benthaus, a wheelchair user, has been raising her voice for more accessibility in STEM and space exploration and referred to this achievement as a way of making space travel possible for people with different abilities. The crew of the next shuttle NS-37 is made up of investor Joey Hyde, engineer Hans Koenigsmann, entrepreneur Neal Milch, investor Adonis Pouroulis, and space enthusiast Jason Stansell, along with Benthaus.
New Shepard is Blue Origin's suborbital rocket system that is designed to be reused and is therefore able to go on short trips routinely beyond the border of space. Such journeys are about 10–12 minutes long and offer the passengers a few minutes of weightlessness as well as an amazing view of the Earth from space. Initially, the development was aimed at broadening the human spaceflight access; the program is now leading the way for more private aerospace companies to get involved.
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