Michaela, who works at the European Space Agency, decided to get in contact with a retired space engineer to see if she could fulfil her dream of being an astronaut.<\/p>\n
He was able to help Michaela secure a spot on the flight with Blue Origin, the space tourism company<\/a> founded by Jeff Bezos. <\/p>\n The New Shepard rocket took off from the state of Texas in the United States at the weekend, with Michaela and five other passengers on board.<\/p>\n It crossed the K\u00e1rm\u00e1n line, the internationally recognised boundary of space, which is located around 62 miles above sea level.<\/p>\n The capsule then made its way back down to Earth, with the whole flight taking about 10 minutes to complete.<\/p>\n After returning to Earth, Michaela spoke of her experience.<\/p>\n “I didn’t only like the view and the micro-gravity, but I also liked going up.<\/p>\n That was so cool, every stage of going up,” she explained.<\/p>\n Phil Joyce, senior vice-president of New Shepard, said: “Michi’s flight is particularly meaningful, demonstrating that space is for everyone, and we are proud to help her achieve this dream.”<\/p>\n Nasa boss, Jared Isaacman, was also full of praise for Michaela.<\/p>\n Writing on social media, he said: “Congratulations, Michi! You just inspired millions to look up and imagine what is possible.”<\/p>\n It was Blue Origin’s 16th crewed flight, using its New Shepard rocket.<\/p>\n The company has taken dozens of tourists to space in recent years.<\/p>\n In 2024, Ed Dwight became the oldest person to go to space<\/a> at the age of 90 years, 8 months and 10 days, when he travelled on the New Shephard rocket.<\/p>\n