LONDON (dpa-AFX) - British astronaut John McFall has been cleared to become the first person with a physical disability to go to space.
The 43-year-old former Paralympian and surgeon has been medically certified to undertake a long-duration mission to the International Space Station, the European Space Agency has announced.
John, who lost his leg in a motorbike accident when he was 19, was selected to take part in ESA's Fly! Feasibility study in 2022, to look at the challenges of getting an astronaut with a disability to the ISS.
The study concluded in late 2024 and successfully demonstrated it is technically feasible to fly someone with a physical disability, like John's, on a six-month mission to the ISS as a fully integrated crew member. The end of the feasibility study marks the start of the next phase: Fly! Mission Ready.
McFall described the progression to the Mission Ready phase as an important milestone in the history of human spaceflight.
Daniel Neuenschwander, the Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at the European Space Agency, said there were three main elements of the Mission Ready phase - the type of scientific research activities that would be conducted on a mission; the qualification of the prosthesis; and the medical certification.
McFall is currently taking part in ESA Astronaut Reserve training at the European Astronaut Centre in Germany, along with another British astronaut Meganne Christian. Another potential candidate to the future ISS mission, Rosemary Coogan graduated from astronaut basic training in April 2024 and is currently training with NASA in the US.
The UK Space Agency did not provide any schedule for these astronauts' potential flight to the International Space Station.
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