Aerospace Engineer Benthaus to Fly on Blue Origin NS-37 Suborbital Mission

Blue Origin formally announced the six-person manifest for its upcoming New Shepard suborbital flight, designated NS-37, on December 3, 2025, signaling a notable development for accessibility in commercial space travel. Central to this announcement is Aerospace Engineer Michaela (Michi) Benthaus, who is scheduled to become the first individual utilizing a wheelchair to travel into suborbital space.

The mission is set to ascend beyond the 100-kilometer Kármán Line, continuing the operational tempo of the New Shepard program. NS-37 represents the 37th overall flight for the vehicle and the 16th crewed venture since the program's commencement. The launch is planned from Blue Origin's Launch Site One at Corn Ranch in West Texas, with a target launch window set for late 2025 or early 2026, pending final confirmation.

Benthaus, an engineer at the European Space Agency, has maintained a focus on space exploration despite a spinal cord injury sustained in a 2018 mountain biking accident that affected her mobility. Her commitment to advancing space exploration is evidenced by prior participation in a Zero-G research flight in December 2022 and an analog astronaut mission in Poland in 2024. Blue Origin noted that Benthaus has dedicated her career to scientific collaboration, and her inclusion suggests a potential progression toward broader participation in space tourism and research activities.

The NS-37 crew comprises six individuals: Benthaus, Joey Hyde, Hans Koenigsmann, Neal Milch, Adonis Pouroulis, and Jason Stansell. Koenigsmann contributes significant aerospace experience, having spent two decades at SpaceX, where he served as vice president of build and flight reliability. Hyde is identified as an investor who recently retired from a hedge fund and holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics, inspired by witnessing the 1988 launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. This diverse professional composition underscores the evolving demographic of private space travelers.

As of the December 2025 announcement, the New Shepard system has successfully carried 86 people, representing 80 unique individuals, above the Kármán line, with each suborbital journey typically lasting between 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. While Blue Origin has not released the exact ticket price for NS-37, historical data indicates significant cost variation, with initial auction seats reaching $28 million in 2021, and later rumored prices ranging from $200,000 to $300,000 per seat. This mission follows the NS-34 crewed flight on August 3, 2025, and the NS-36 crewed mission on October 8, 2025, building upon Blue Origin’s consistent launch cadence for the year.