Blue Origin targeting Dec. 18 for historic 1st spaceflight of wheelchair user

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Liftoff of the suborbital NS-37 mission is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 18.

a white rocket lifts off from a desert launch site into the dawn sky
Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle launches on the NS-34 mission on Aug. 3, 2025, carrying six people to suborbital space. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

A wheelchair user will reach space next week for the first time ever, if all goes according to plan.

Blue Origin announced today (Dec. 11) that it's targeting Dec. 18 for its NS-37 mission, which will send six people on a brief trip to suborbital space and back.

a photo grid showing headshots of five men and one woman

The six passengers on Blue Origin's upcoming NS-37 suborbital spaceflight. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

NS-37 will lift off from Blue Origin's West Texas site on Dec. 18 during a window that opens at 9:30 a.m. EST (1430 GMT; 8:30 a.m. local time). The company will stream the action live, beginning about 40 minutes before launch.

As its name suggests, NS-37 will be the 37th overall flight of Blue Origin's autonomous New Shepard vehicle, which consists of a crew capsule and a rocket, both of which are reusable.

New Shepard flights last 10 to 12 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Passengers feel a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space.

The five folks who will get this experience on NS-37 along with Benthaus are investor Joey Hyde, aerospace engineer Hans Koenigsmann, entrepreneur Neal Milch, investor Adonis Pouroulis, and self-proclaimed "space nerd" Jason Stansell.

Other space nerds may recognize Koenigsmann's name: He was one of the first employees at SpaceX, working there from 2002 to 2021. For roughly half of that time, he served as the company's vice president of build and flight reliability and was a frequent participant in launch webcasts and press conferences.

a hexagonal mission patch featuring a white space capsule against a dark-blue background

The patch for Blue Origin's NS-37 suborbital tourism mission. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

Blue Origin, which was founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, also released the NS-37 mission patch today, along with an explanation of what some of its symbols mean. Here's that explanation, verbatim from the company:

  • The DNA symbolizes the importance and impact of science to Neal Milch. 
  • The hippo represents Michaela (Michi) Benthaus' favorite animal. Her plush hippo, which comforted her in the hospital after her accident, will join her in space. The tennis ball symbolizes another of Michi's competitive passions. 
  • A baobab tree, iconic to South Africa, represents Adonis Pouroulis' roots. 
  • A spiral galaxy symbolizes Joey Hyde's astrophysics research. 
  • A dog-bone shape, stars in the crew capsule windows represent the number 201, and "K" are in memoriam of Jason Stansell's brother. 
  • The shards represent Blue Origin's commitment to breaking down the barriers to accessing space, including cost, nationality, and ability.  
Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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