Engineer becomes first wheelchair user to travel to space

A engineer from Germany has become the first wheelchair user to travel to space.

Michaela Benthaus was among six passengers who travelled on board a Blue Origin capsule for the ten-minute flight.

The rocket blasted off and reached the Kármán line - a point just above the imaginary boundary marking the edge of space - before coming back down again.

After her return to Earth, Michaela called her trip "the coolest experience" adding that "you should never give up on your dreams".

Michaela, who works at the European Space Agency, decided to get in contact with a retired space engineer to see if she could fulfil her dream of being an astronaut.

He was able to help Michaela secure a spot on the flight with Blue Origin, the space tourism company founded by Jeff Bezos.

The New Shepard rocket took off from the state of Texas in the United States at the weekend, with Michaela and five other passengers on board.

It crossed the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary of space, which is located around 62 miles above sea level.

The capsule then made its way back down to Earth, with the whole flight taking about 10 minutes to complete.

After returning to Earth, Michaela spoke of her experience.

"I didn't only like the view and the micro-gravity, but I also liked going up.

That was so cool, every stage of going up," she explained.

Phil Joyce, senior vice-president of New Shepard, said: "Michi's flight is particularly meaningful, demonstrating that space is for everyone, and we are proud to help her achieve this dream."

Nasa boss, Jared Isaacman, was also full of praise for Michaela.

Writing on social media, he said: "Congratulations, Michi! You just inspired millions to look up and imagine what is possible."

It was Blue Origin's 16th crewed flight, using its New Shepard rocket.

The company has taken dozens of tourists to space in recent years.

In 2024, Ed Dwight became the oldest person to go to space at the age of 90 years, 8 months and 10 days, when he travelled on the New Shephard rocket.

And in April this year, pop star Katy Perry was part of an all-female flight crew who reached the Kármán line with the same company.

Space tourism is the term for people paying to get a trip into space.

There are several different companies offering to send people to space on tourist trips - including Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

Flying up into space costs a lot of money, so the price of a ticket is very expensive.

A lot of the space missions we hear about, such as Artemis, are funded by governments or space agencies, like Nasa and the European Space Agency (ESA).

This is space exploration, and it's mainly done to help us understand space and technology.

There's also commercial space exploration - like SpaceX - which is owned by Elon Musk.

Space tourism can sometimes be for scientific research, but it can also be for fun - for the experience.

Space tourism has split people's opinions in recent years.

Some people say that it is too exclusive, as it is very expensive so only certain people can afford to do it - as well as being damaging to the environment.

While those who support space tourism say that private companies are helping to increase innovation and making space more accessible for all.