Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-37 to fly Michaela "Michi" Benthaus, poised to be first wheelchair user in space

Blue Origin will launch New Shepard NS-37, a suborbital flight carrying six passengers including Michaela "Michi" Benthaus — who aims to become the first wheelchair user in space. The mission is a deliberate step to advance accessibility in commercial space tourism and increase public visibility for disability inclusion in spaceflight.

Discovered 2025-12-05T08:08:44.482691-08:00 | 2025-12-05T08:08:44.482691-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • The flight will carry six passengers and includes a traveler in a wheelchair, making it a practical test of accessibility measures on New Shepard and a milestone for inclusive crew accommodations; see Blue Origin's push to increase New Shepard cadence and operations here: https://hype.aero/?story=a01fc4dc-1ece-4de8-baa7-2c7688df0a00
  • This move broadens the addressable market for suborbital tourism as competitors expand offerings — China’s CASC has begun selling suborbital packages with tickets from US$140,534 — underscoring growing commercial demand: https://hype.aero/?story=1426b581-5053-48fe-8bfc-a59978a23f74
  • The NS-37 passenger flight comes while Blue Origin advances other programs (Blue Ring, New Glenn), signaling the company is balancing tourism operations with larger government and orbital ambitions: https://hype.aero/?story=9d584ad9-1a9f-4875-a25a-34c348eb818c

Reported By

orbitaltoday.com Satellite News Network cavenewstimes.com Leonard David Space.com
Sources Tracked
5
First Seen
2025-12-05T08:08:44.482691-08:00
Latest Update
2025-12-06T20:08:44.063889-08:00
Coverage
Space

Sources

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