Former British Paralympian John McFall has taken one step closer to becoming the first astronaut with a disability to be eligible for flight missions, after being medically certified for long-duration spaceflights.
McFall, who has a prosthetic leg, helped the European Space Agency with their Fly! Feasibility study from 2022 to 2024. The study assessed the challenges barring people with disabilities from flying on the International Space Station, ultimately concluding that it’s feasible for someone with certain physical disabilities to become a fully integrated crew member on the ISS.
“Now we’re progressing to the next phase, and what we want to do is realise that opportunity to fly, so we’re moving forward… into the Mission Ready phase,” says McFall. “This phase will include looking at hardware certification and moving further down…
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BBC Sky at Night United Kingdom (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025