First wheelchair-using astronaut touches down after ride to edge of space
Michaela Benthaus from Germany soared 65 miles above the Earth’s surface in 10-minute Blue Origin flightA paraplegic engineer from Germany blasted off on a dream-come-true rocket ride with five other passengers on Saturday, leaving her wheelchair behind to float in space while beholding Earth...
<p>Michaela Benthaus from Germany soared 65 miles above the Earth’s surface in 10-minute Blue Origin flight</p><p>A paraplegic engineer from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/germany">Germany</a> blasted off on a dream-come-true rocket ride with five other passengers on Saturday, leaving her wheelchair behind to float in space while beholding Earth from on high.</p><p>Severely injured in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, Michaela Benthaus became the first wheelchair user in space, launching from west Texas with Jeff Bezos’s company Blue Origin. She was accompanied by a retired SpaceX executive also born in Germany, Hans Koenigsmann, who helped organize and, along with Blue Origin, sponsored her trip. Their ticket prices were not divulged.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/20/first-wheelchair-using-astronaut-blur-origin-rocket">Continue reading...</a>
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