5.12.2025
Next Blue Origin tourist launch will fly wheelchair user to space for 1st time
The NS-37 flight will also carry former SpaceX rocket scientist Hans Koenigsmann.
Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle launches on the NS-34 mission on Aug. 3, 2025, carrying six people to suborbital space. (Image credit: Blue Origin)
Michi Benthaus is about to make history.
Benthaus, an aerospace engineer at the European Space Agency, is one of the six passengers on Blue Origin's next space tourism launch, the company announced today (Dec. 3). She'll become the first wheelchair user ever to reach the final frontier.
Here's some information about Benthaus and her five crewmates on the upcoming flight, which Blue Origin calls NS-37. (The company has not yet announced a launch date, but we should learn that soon.)
The six passengers on Blue Origin's upcoming NS-37 suborbital spaceflight. (Image credit: Blue Origin)
- Michaela (Michi) Benthaus "has dedicated her career to scientific collaboration for the advancement of interplanetary exploration," Blue Origin wrote in a description of the NS-37 crew. A spinal cord injury, suffered in a mountain biking accident in 2018, affected Benthaus' ability to walk but not her passion for the final frontier. She flew on a weightlessness-inducing parabolic airplane flight in 2022 and completed a two-week-long analog astronaut mission in Poland in 2024.
- Joey Hyde, an investor who recently retired from "a leading hedge fund," according to Blue Origin. He holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics and has long been fascinated by human spaceflight.
- Hans Koenigsmann, a German-American aerospace engineer who worked for SpaceX from 2002 until 2021. For the last 10 of those years, he served as the company's vice president of build and flight reliability, the higher-up who's ultimately responsible for the safety and success of space missions.
- Neal Milch, an entrepreneur and executive who currently chairs the board of trustees at Jackson Laboratory, a nonprofit biomedical research institute that was established in Maine in 1929.
- Adonis Pouroulis, a mining engineer, investor and entrepreneur with a focus on natural resources and the energy sector. "His career and philanthropic work reflect a consistent commitment to education and the responsible and sustainable development of Earth’s resources," Blue Origin wrote.
- Jason Stansell, "a self-proclaimed space nerd" based in West Texas, according to Blue Origin. "Jason is looking to inspire healthy skepticism and promote science education through his experience. He is also dedicating his flight to his brother, Kevin, who passed away in 2016 to a hard-fought battle with brain cancer."
As its name suggests, NS-37 will be the 37th flight of Blue Origin's reusable New Shepard rocket-capsule combo. Each of these suborbital jaunts lasts just 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown but gets above the 62-mile-high (100 kilometers) Kármán Line, the widely regarded boundary of outer space.
Blue Origin, which was founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, has not disclosed how much it charges for this experience.
NS-37 will be the 16th crewed flight overall for the autonomous New Shepard, and its seventh such mission of 2025. To date, the vehicle has carried 86 people to and from suborbital space (but just 80 individuals, as six of them have been repeat customers).
Quelle: SC
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Update: 13.12.2025
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Blue Origin targeting Dec. 18 for historic 1st spaceflight of wheelchair user
Liftoff of the suborbital NS-37 mission is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 18.
Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle launches on the NS-34 mission on Aug. 3, 2025, carrying six people to suborbital space. (Image credit: Blue Origin)
A wheelchair user will reach space next week for the first time ever, if all goes according to plan.
Blue Origin announced today (Dec. 11) that it's targeting Dec. 18 for its NS-37 mission, which will send six people on a brief trip to suborbital space and back.
One of the passengers is Michaela (Michi) Benthaus, an aerospace engineer at the European Space Agency who has used a wheelchair since suffering a spinal cord injury in a 2018 mountain-biking accident. She is poised to break new ground for access and inclusion in human spaceflight.
NS-37 will lift off from Blue Origin's West Texas site on Dec. 18 during a window that opens at 9:30 a.m. EST (1430 GMT; 8:30 a.m. local time). The company will stream the action live, beginning about 40 minutes before launch.
As its name suggests, NS-37 will be the 37th overall flight of Blue Origin's autonomous New Shepard vehicle, which consists of a crew capsule and a rocket, both of which are reusable.
New Shepard flights last 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Passengers feel a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space.
The five folks who will get this experience on NS-37 along with Benthaus are investor Joey Hyde, aerospace engineer Hans Koenigsmann, entrepreneur Neal Milch, investor Adonis Pouroulis, and self-proclaimed "space nerd" Jason Stansell.
Other space nerds may recognize Koenigsmann's name: He was one of the first employees at SpaceX, working there from 2002 to 2021. For roughly half of that time, he served as the company's vice president of build and flight reliability and was a frequent participant in launch webcasts and press conferences.
The patch for Blue Origin's NS-37 suborbital tourism mission. (Image credit: Blue Origin
Blue Origin, which was founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, also released the NS-37 mission patch today, along with an explanation of what some of its symbols mean. Here's that explanation, verbatim from the company:
- The DNA symbolizes the importance and impact of science to Neal Milch.
- The hippo represents Michaela (Michi) Benthaus' favorite animal. Her plush hippo, which comforted her in the hospital after her accident, will join her in space. The tennis ball symbolizes another of Michi's competitive passions.
- A baobab tree, iconic to South Africa, represents Adonis Pouroulis' roots.
- A spiral galaxy symbolizes Joey Hyde's astrophysics research.
- A dog-bone shape, stars in the crew capsule windows represent the number 201, and "K" are in memoriam of Jason Stansell's brother.
- The shards represent Blue Origin's commitment to breaking down the barriers to accessing space, including cost, nationality, and ability.
Quelle: SC
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Update: 19.12.2025
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Blue Origin scrubs space tourist rocket launch with first wheelchair user due to last minute 'observation'
Michi Benthaus and her five crewmates will not go to space Thursday (Dec. 18).
(Image credit: Blue Origin)
Aerospace engineer Michi Benthaus will wait a little longer before she becomes the first wheelchair user ever to reach space.
Blue Origin was forced to scrub th launch of its suborbital New Shepard rocket carrying Benthaus and her five crewmates, which was scheduled to lift off from the company's West Texas launch site Thursday.
Instead, the launch countdown was put on hold twice, ultimately resulting in the postponement of the NS-37 mission. The first, due to upper level winds, pushed T-0 into the 11 o'clock hour (1600 GMT). Once the count resumed, another hold was called at T-58 seconds, due to an "issue with built-in checks prior to flight," Blue Origin commentators said during the mission's livestream.
Benthaus, who works at the European Space Agency, has used a wheelchair since suffering a mountain-biking accident in 2018. Joining her on the flight, once it gets off the ground, are investors Joey Hyde and Adonis Pouroulis, aerospace engineer Hans Koenigsmann, entrepreneur Neal Milch and self-proclaimed "space nerd" Jason Stansell.
Koenigsmann's name and face are familiar to many space fans, for he worked at SpaceX from 2002 to 2021. He served as the company's vice president of build and flight reliability for the final 10 years of that tenure and participated in many post-launch press conferences in that capacity.
Blue Origin has designated the mission NS-37, because it will be the 37th liftoff of New Shepard, an autonomous, fully reusable rocket-capsule combo.
New Shepard flights are suborbital and brief, lasting just 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Passengers get to see Earth against the blackness of space and experience a few minutes of weightlessness.
Sixteen of New Shepard's 36 flights to date have carried passengers; the other 20 have been uncrewed research missions. The 16 crewed flights have lofted a total of 86 people, though just 80 individuals — six passengers have been repeat customers.
Blue Origin has not disclosed how much it charges for a seat aboard New Shepard.
Quelle: SC
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Update: 20.12.2025
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Start von Blue Origin NS-37 New Shepard
Quelle: Blue Origin