She just became the first wheelchair user to travel to space

Michaela Benthaus, a 33-year-old German aerospace and mechatronics engineer at the European Space Agency, just became the first wheelchair user ever to travel past the Kármán Line — a common demarcation for outer space that lies 100 kilometers (62 miles) above sea level.

Her history-making trip aboard a Blue Origin New Shepard capsule took flight on Saturday morning, lifting off from the company’s launch facilities near Van Horn, Texas.

The mission, known as NS-37, is the 16th suborbital space tourism launch carried out by Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-funded rocket venture founded in 2000 with the aim of expanding access to space — even for enthusiasts who don’t fit the typical mold of an astronaut.

“I always wanted to go to space, but I never really considered it something which I could actually do,” Benthaus told CNN ahead of the flight.

“Maybe space is for people who have an amputated leg but still can walk a little bit,” Benthaus said she had wondered before securing a seat on a New Shepard capsule. “Maybe having a spinal cord injury is way too disabled.”