For the first time, a paraplegic person, German Michaela Benthaus, has been in space for a short time. The engineer at the European Space Agency (Esa) was part of a six-person space excursion by the commercial US space company Blue Origin, founded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. A live broadcast on the internet showed the successful launch and landing of the mission "New Shepard NS-37" after an eleven-minute flight. With former space engineer Hans Königsmann, a second German was on board.
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Benthaus raves about impressions
"Honestly, that was the coolest experience ever," Benthaus said shortly after landing. The native of Kiel has been paralyzed since a mountain bike accident in 2018 and uses a wheelchair. She has been fascinated by space since she saw "Star Wars" as a child, the 33-year-old had said in advance. Now she was able to enjoy not only the brief weightlessness but also the ascent, Benthaus said. "I think you should never give up on your dreams. There's sometimes a small chance they'll come true," she said.
Königsmann had worked until 2021 for Blue Origin's competitor, SpaceX, the space company of tech billionaire Elon Musk. "Seeing the Earth and the atmosphere is fantastic, but the black background is more intense than I thought," he said after landing.
It was the 16th manned trip for Bezos' space tourism company and the first such space excursion with two Germans on board. In addition to the two, four US entrepreneurs were on board "New Shepard".
Criticism of commercial spaceflight
The largely automated excursion took the six participants to an altitude of around 100 kilometers, including a short period of weightlessness. The first launch attempt on Thursday was canceled less than a minute before the rocket was scheduled to lift off. There was "a problem with our built-in pre-flight checks," it was stated.
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Blue Origin's rocket flights for paying customers are criticized primarily for their low scientific benefit, their impact on the environment and climate, and their elitist nature. The accusation is that it is unnecessary space tourism for the super-rich.
Katy Perry and William Shatner also traveled to space with Blue Origin
Blue Origin has been offering short trips for tourists for several years. According to the company, about 80 paying customers have been on board so far, including musician Katy Perry and actor William Shatner. Founder Bezos himself was on the first flight in 2021. The company does not comment on exact ticket prices.
