USA: First Person in Wheelchair Travels to Space

A tourist in a wheelchair took a short trip to space on a rocket owned by Jeff Bezos, marking the first such occurrence worldwide.

Mikaela Benthous, a German aerospace engineer who is paraplegic after an accident, participated in the Blue Origin flight along with five other passengers. The launch took place in West Texas.

The rocket took off vertically, and the capsule detached in flight before returning to the Texas desert with parachutes. The flight lasted approximately 10 minutes, and the passengers crossed the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space at 100 km.

Jared Isaacman of NASA congratulated Benthous on her perseverance, calling her an inspiration. Blue Origin offers space tourism flights with its New Shepard rocket and has carried over 80 people, including celebrities such as Katy Perry and William Shatner.

Source: AΠE-MΠE