A British astronaut has been cleared to become the first person with a physical disability to take part in a mission on the International Space Station, the European Space Agency (ESA) has said.
John McFall, a former paralympian sprinter from Cardiff, has been medically certified to undertake a long-duration space mission, the agency said at a news conference on Friday.
Mr McFall told Sky News’ science and medical correspondent Thomas Moore: “It’s great to have completed the feasibility study and demonstrated there is no technical showstopper for me flying to the International Space Station.”
He went on to say “today’s announcement is not just about me personally getting medically certified to to fly long-duration missions”.
“It’s much more than that,” he said while pointing to what he described as a culture shift in how people with disabilities are treated.
“I think it should give people faith that’s it is possible to change things and people are listening and with the right support, and the right work, it is possible to change mindsets.
“And whilst this just happens to be in the space industry, it doesn’t mean that it’s not possible in many, many other sectors.”
John McFall in 2023. File pic: ESA
He also said in the news conference that he was mostly “passive” during the testing process, which lasted around a month and involved medical exams. He said he “just had to demonstrate I could do the required tasks”.
In 2022, the ESA launched the Fly! feasibility study to look at the challenges of getting a disabled astronaut to the ISS and Mr McFall, a father of three, was selected for the programme as a member of the ESA astronaut reserve.
Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s director of human and robotic exploration, told Sky News: “John is part of the pool of astronauts who are eligible to fly to the International Space Station despite political considerations from any of our international partners.
“So this box is ticked. And I’m very proud because Europe stands for its values inclusiveness is the value of Europe.
“It’s also a strong value at the European Space Agency. We stand for responsible, sustainable and sustained exploration.
“And John is just a marvellous example.”
He did not say when Mr McFall might join a mission but said: “This is only the beginning.”
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Experts from ESA, NASA & SpaceX helped with the feasibility study, which looked at more than 80 different areas, including medical aspects, the ESA said.
Asked about the possibility of taking part in a British mission in the future, Mr McFall told the news conference that was a “very interesting prospect”, but said there was “nothing proposed at the moment”.
The surgeon, who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident at the age of 19, learned to run again and became a professional track and field athlete in 2005.
John McFall (L) carrying the Paralympic flag at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. File pic: Reuters
He represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a Paralympic 100m sprinter and won more than a dozen medals, including bronze at the 2008 Paralympics, before leaving the sport to become an orthopaedic surgeon.
Liz Johns, interim head of space exploration at the UK Space Agency, said: “It is fantastic to see that John and the team at ESA have proved it is technically possible for someone with a physical disability like his to live and work on the International Space Station.
“This is ground-breaking work that no other space agency has done before.
“Now we are looking forward to supporting John during the next phase: Fly! Mission Ready.
“This is an essential step towards the first long-term mission for an astronaut with a physical disability.”