Published 3 days ago • loading... • Updated 2 days ago

He Spent 20 Years at SpaceX. Now, He’s Making History with Its Biggest Competitor

On Thursday, Blue Origin will launch New Shepard NS-37 from Launch Site One, Van Horn, Texas at 9:30 a.m. ET, carrying Michaela Benthaus, the first wheelchair user to travel to space.
After meeting in Munich last year, Hans Koenigsmann, former SpaceX executive, quietly conspired to arrange Benthaus's flight after leaving SpaceX in 2021 following nearly 20 years.
Among the accommodations, Blue Origin adapted procedures so Benthaus can use a small bench to enter and exit the 15-foot-wide New Shepard capsule, and Koenigsmann will assist her during the 10 to 12-minute flight livestreamed on Blue Origin's website.
If successful, Blue Origin's flight could quash doubts for wheelchair users though critics question prioritizing disabilities, and financial barriers persist as ticket prices remain undisclosed.
In recent years, accessibility strides include Hayley Arceneaux's 2021 orbital flight and John McFall's clearance this year, while Blue Origin New Shepard's NS-37 marks its 16th human flight after 86 people crossed the Kármán line.

Insights by Ground AI

37 Articles

tz.de

Reposted by

merkur.de

Center

Former Munich Student to Fly Into Space – Flight Postponed at the Last Minute

Less than a minute before the launch, Jeff Bezos' space companies had to cancel the historic flight. A German would have been the first person with cross-sectional paralysis in space.

2 days ago

Read Full Article

Financial Post

Lean Right

Blue Origin Space Tourism Launch Includes First Wheelchair User

(Bloomberg) — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is slated to launch a crew of six on a suborbital joyride Thursday, including the first wheelchair user to reach space and one of SpaceX’s first engineers.

2 days ago·Canada

Read Full Article

Berliner Morgenpost

Center

Michaela Makes History: First Woman in a Wheelchair Flies Into Space

Engineer Michaela Benthaus will be the first person in space to use a wheelchair. Another German astronaut will launch on Thursday.

3 days ago·Berlin, Germany

Read Full Article

Spiegel

Lean Left

Michaela Benthaus: Cross-Sectionally Paralyzed Germans Want to Fly Into Space Today with Blue Origin

For the first time, two Germans are to be picked up by US billionaire Jeff Bezos with a rocket from the space company. One of them is engineer Michaela Benthaus, who wants to set a signal for inclusion.

3 days ago·Germany

Read Full Article