Blue Origin to launch first wheelchair user to space on NS-37 mission

Blue Origin is set to make history by carrying a person who uses a wheelchair on its next space launch.

Michaela “Mitchie” Penthouse, who was injured in a mountain bike accident in 2018, is expected to become the first wheelchair user to enter suborbital space on the upcoming New Shepard mission NS-37, the company said.

“Michaela (Michie) Penthouse will become the first wheelchair user to cross the Carman Line. Her story, advocacy and passion are evident in everything she does,” Blue Origin said Thursday.

The company said the next launch could take place on Saturday at 8 a.m. CST, with a live webcast starting 20 minutes earlier. But the timetable is tentative. The mission was originally scheduled to take place on Thursday, but was postponed after the team discovered a problem during initial inspections.

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Blue Origin said Penthouse is a senior expert in robotics and spacecraft at ESA and leads international efforts to help advance studies of other planets.

In 2018, she was reportedly involved in a mountain biking accident that injured her spine and affected her ability to walk. Undeterred, Penthouse continued to pursue her passion. Benthouse has completed zero-gravity research flights in 2022, and in her personal life, she plays sports such as wheelchair tennis, the company said.

The next New Shepard Mission NS-37 launch will include (from left) Joey Hyde, Hans Koenigsmann, Mishy Penthouse, Neil Milch, Adonis Bouroulis, and Jason Stancill. (Blue Origin/Fox News)

The rest of her six-person team will include Joey Hyde, a physicist and quantitative investor; Hans Koenigsmann, a German-American aeronautical engineer; Neil Milch, business manager and entrepreneur; Adonis Bouroulis, businessman, investor and mining engineer; and Jason Stancil, a “self-proclaimed space geek” who studied computer science, according to Blue Origin.

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The Michi Benthaus is located on the edge of the New Shepard crew capsule next to Hans Koenigsmann. (Blue Origin/Fox News)

Thursday’s flight from West Texas marked New Shepard’s 37th mission and 16th to fly humans over the 62-mile boundary that separates Earth’s atmosphere from space.

New Shepard carried 80 people, including founder Jeff Bezos, his wife Lauren Sanchez, and celebrities like Katy Perry, William Shatner, Michael Strahan, and Gayle King.