German engineer Michaela Benthaus on Saturday became the first person with paraplegia to travel to space.
The brief suborbital trip was carried out by Blue Origin, the space tourism company of American billionaire Jeff Bezos.
Saturday’s mission was the 16th crewed flight for the company.
Apart from this, former German space engineer Hans Konigsmann and four American entrepreneurs were also on the ship.
New Shepard NS-37 launched from Bezos’ property in western Texas at 8:15 a.m. local time (1415 UTC) for a flight that lasted about 11 minutes.
The ship reached an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers (about 62 miles).
During the journey the passengers experienced a brief moment of weightlessness.
Dozens of people have traveled to space with Blue Origin, including pop singer Katy Perry and former Star Trek actor William Shatner. The company aims to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
‘It was the best experience ever’
Benthaus, who is 33, gushed about her experience in space in comments made after returning to Earth.
“Honestly, it was the best experience ever,” said the engineer, who works at the European Space Agency (ESA).
He said, “I think you should never give up on your dreams. Sometimes the chances of it coming true are very slim.”
Benthaus suffered a spinal cord injury during a mountain bike accident at the age of 26 and now uses a wheelchair.
He called on the world to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
“After my accident… I really realized how inaccessible our world still is,” he said, adding that facilities for people with disabilities are needed to create an “inclusive society.”
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko