A disabled person flies into space for the first time in history

Riječ is about a suborbital flight with the New Shepard rocket, which means that the capsule does not go into orbit around the Earth, but briefly climbs above the boundary of space and then returns back. The entire journey from takeoff to landing usually takes about 10 to 12 minutes, and passengers get a few minutes of blissful state and a view of the Earth from the “blackness” of space.

Benthaus uses a wheelchair after injuring her spine in a mountain bike accident in 2018, but has remained connected to space, both professionally and through training that simulates flight conditions. Before the mission, Blue Origin and its partners had to adjust part of the logistics and procedures, from being on location to entering and exiting the capsule, and a solution is also mentioned that helps stabilize her legs in an emergency.

Why is this a big deal even though it’s a “tourist” flight? Because in space programs moreć for decades, every detail has been planned for a very narrow passenger profile, and flights like this show that this profile can be expanded. In practice, this means more work on accessibility, equipment design, safety protocols and crew training, but also a clear message that disability does not have to automatically mean the end of the ambition to experience space.

The extent to which space agencies adapt to the passenger profile is also shown by the fact that ESA and the UK Space Agency are more they’ve been pushing the “parastronaut” project for years, and John McFall was previously given the green light to be certified for a long-duration mission to the space station, which is a separate, even more demanding level than a suborbital jump.

Each such mission pushes the industry to make accessibility part of the standard, not the exception. Today it is a short flight with a few minutes of emergency, tomorrow it can mean more serious missions and a wider circle of people who can even enter that world. This shows how space travel is getting easier, which is crucial for those not in space agencies hoping to leave the planet for a while.