Blue Origin has announced the six passengers who will fly on its upcoming NS 37 mission, a suborbital tourist launch that will make history by sending the first wheelchair user above the Kármán line. The flight date has not yet been confirmed, but the company said its live webcast will begin forty minutes before liftoff once the schedule is released.
The mission will be another milestone for Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule system, which is designed for short suborbital journeys lasting between ten and twelve minutes. To date, the company has flown eighty-six people into space, representing eighty individual passengers, with several flying more than once. NS 37 will be the sixteenth crewed mission for the programme and the seventh launch of 2025.
Michi Benthaus to become the first wheelchair user in space
The most significant element of the announcement is the inclusion of Michaela (Michi) Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer at the European Space Agency. Her participation will mark the first time a wheelchair user has reached space, a milestone for accessibility in human spaceflight.
Benthaus has built a career dedicated to scientific collaboration and interplanetary exploration. In 2018, she suffered a spinal cord injury in a mountain biking accident, which affected her ability to walk. Despite this, she has continued to take part in space research and training, including a Zero G research flight in 2022 and a two-week analogue astronaut mission in Poland in 2024. Beyond her scientific work, she is an advocate for increasing participation in space-related activities and remains active in wheelchair tennis.
A diverse crew with scientific, engineering, and entrepreneurial backgrounds
Blue Origin also introduced five other passengers representing a broad mix of expertise and careers.
Joey Hyde is a physicist and quantitative investor who recently retired from a leading hedge fund. Based in Florida with his family, he holds a doctorate in astrophysics and has been fascinated by spaceflight since witnessing the 1988 launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. He sees NS 37 as a continuation of his long-standing support for science education and exploration.
Hans Koenigsmann, a German American aerospace engineer, is one of the most prominent figures in modern rocket development. He spent nearly two decades at SpaceX, ultimately serving as vice president of build and flight reliability. Koenigsmann remains active in the industry through advisory and board roles and is a licensed pilot and dedicated skier.
Neal Milch is a global business executive who began his career at LaundryLux, a family-owned commercial laundry company. He is now the chair of the Board of Trustees at Jackson Laboratory, an internationally recognised biomedical research institute. Influenced by watching the Gemini and Apollo missions as a child, Milch adopted the Latin phrase In Omnia Paratus, meaning Ready for Anything, as his guiding motto.
Adonis Pouroulis, an entrepreneur and mining engineer, brings more than three decades of experience in the natural resources and energy sector. He is the founder of Pella Resources, co-founder of Energy Revolution Ventures, chairman of Rainbow Rare Earths, and chief executive of Chariot Limited. His career reflects a strong interest in sustainable energy solutions and education, and he describes the upcoming flight as a lifelong dream.
Jason Stansell, a computer scientist from West Texas, completes the crew. A self-described space enthusiast, he has pursued a wide range of scientific and technical hobbies, from scuba diving to aviation and amateur rocketry. He hopes his participation will encourage scientific curiosity and critical thinking. Stansell is dedicating his flight to his brother Kevin, who passed away in 2016 after a battle with brain cancer.
A short but significant journey above the boundary of space
NS 37 will carry the crew above the Kármán line, roughly one hundred kilometres above Earth, the internationally recognised boundary of space. Although the journey lasts only minutes from launch to touchdown, the mission offers a powerful symbolic and technological step in widening access to space.
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has not revealed the cost of a seat on New Shepard, but interest in suborbital tourism continues to grow as private companies expand opportunities for civilian spaceflight.
