First wheelchair user in space

Michaela Benthaus, an engineer from Germany who suffered a spinal cord injury in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, has become the world's first wheelchair user to go into space.

A retired space engineer who she'd contacted online helped to organise the historic ten- minute flight, which was sponsored by the space tourism firm Blue Origin owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

She's been speaking to Weekend's Krupa Padhy about the dream-come-true rocket ride and making space travel accessible in the future.

(Photo: Michaela Benthaus waves from the capsule door of a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket after landing, Credit: Blue Origin/Handout via REUTERS)