Blue Origin targeting Dec. 18 for historic 1st spaceflight of wheelchair user

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A wheelchair user will reach the space next week for the first time, if all goes according to plan.

Blue origin announced today (December 11) that it is targeting December 18 for its Mission NS-37which will send six people on a brief trip to suborbital space and back.

One of the passengers is Michaela (Michi) Benthausaerospace engineer at European Space Agency who has used a wheelchair since suffering a spinal cord injury in a mountain biking accident in 2018. She is poised to break new ground in access and inclusion in human spaceflight.

NS-37 will take off from Blue Origin’s West Texas facility on December 18 during a window that opens at 9:30 a.m. EST (2:30 p.m. GMT; 8:30 a.m. local time). The company will broadcast the action live, approximately 40 minutes before launch.

As the name suggests, NS-37 will be the 37th overall flight of Blue Origin’s autonomous aircraft. New Shepard vehicle, consisting of a crew capsule and a rocket, both reusable.

New Shepard flights last 10 to 12 minutes between takeoff and landing of the capsule. Passengers feel a few minutes of weightlessness and see the Earth in the darkness of space.

The five people who will experience this on NS-37 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 enthusiasts may recognize Koenigsmann’s name: he was one of the first employees of EspaceXworking there from 2002 to 2021. For approximately half of that time, he served as the company’s vice president of flight manufacturing and reliability and frequently participated in launch webcasts and press conferences.

Blue Origin, founded by Amazon Jeff Bezosalso released the NS-37 mission patch today, as well as an explanation what some of its symbols mean. Here is this explanation, verbatim from the company:

• DNA symbolizes the importance and impact of science for Neal Milch.

• The hippopotamus represents Michaela (Michi) Benthaus’ favorite animal. Her stuffed hippopotamus, who 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, emblematic of South Africa, represents the roots of Adonis Pouroulis.

• A spiral galaxy symbolizes Joey Hyde’s astrophysics research.

• Shaped like a dog bone, the stars in the windows of the crew capsule represent the number 201 and the “K” is in memory of Jason Stansell’s brother.

• The fragments represent Blue Origin’s commitment to removing barriers to access to space, including cost, nationality and capacity.