{"id":1990,"date":"2025-02-18T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2025-06-04T15:38:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T14:38:04","slug":"first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"First Disabled Astronaut to go to the International Space Station"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

John McFall will become the first person with a physical disability to take part in a mission to the International Space Station (ISS)<\/a>. John has a lower limb difference after losing his leg in a motorbike accident when he was 19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is a Paralympian, surgeon and Trauma and Orthopaedic Specialist Registrar and has been chosen to undertake a long-duration\u202fmission after being selected to take part in ESA\u2019s Fly! Feasibility<\/a> study in 2022, to look at the challenges of getting an astronaut with a disability to the ISS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A really important milestone in the history of human spaceflight”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The study concluded in late 2024 and successfully demonstrated it is technically feasible to fly someone with a physical disability, like John\u2019s, on a six-month mission to the ISS as a fully integrated crew member.\u202f\u202fThe end of the feasibility study marks the start of the next phase: Fly! Mission Ready. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

It\u2019s great that we can say after a huge amount of work in the last 18 months that we have demonstrated that it\u2019s technically possible for someone with a disability like mine to fly on a long duration mission. And now we\u2019re progressing to the next phase and what we want to do is realise that opportunity to fly, so moving forward, we\u2019re moving into the Mission Ready phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mission Ready phase is an important step in moving forward to realise a potential flight opportunity. This phase will include looking at hardware certification and moving further down that process. We\u2019re going to be looking at what potential science could be conducted on the International Space Station should I get the opportunity to fly and importantly we\u2019re looking towards medical certification for me to fly on a long duration mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the roles of an astronaut is to do important science in microgravity whilst working in space and it\u2019s really my hope that if I get the chance to fly we realise what we do in space, the things we learn, the problems we solve, the technology that we develop has a trickle-down effect and benefits people here on earth in wider society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This progression to the Mission Ready phase is a really important milestone in the history of human spaceflight.<\/p>\nJohn McFall<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ground-breaking work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Liz Johns, Interim Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency<\/a>, said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

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.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nLiz Johns<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What an exciting time for disabled people, We’re sure you will join all of us at Purpl in cheering John on in his space mission! You can find out more about John McFall and the European Space Agency here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Are you a Purpl Member?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purpl is the UK’s first disabled discount website, we aim to help disabled people in the UK to offset the extra costs of living with a disability. We work with hundreds of brands to find the best discounts for our community and save our members money every month! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would like to join Purpl, it is quick and easy to get verified. Check if are eligible to join, you can only join Purpl disabled discounts with one of our accepted documents. Head to our how to get verified page for all the information in how to join Purpl and start saving money today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Disabled Discounts For You<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Betty & Bertie Disabled Discounts<\/strong><\/a>: Exclusive \u00a3100 off any mobility scooter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“A really important milestone in the history of human spaceflight.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-articles","category-disability-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Disabled Astronaut to go to the International Space Station - Purpl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Disabled Astronaut to go to the International Space Station\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""A really important milestone in the history of human spaceflight."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Purpl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/purpldiscounts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-18T07:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-04T14:38:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/john-mcfall720x480.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Purpl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@purpldiscounts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@purpldiscounts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Purpl\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Purpl\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/#\/schema\/person\/604b50660e0058e65efa8be50b49e63d\"},\"headline\":\"First Disabled Astronaut to go to the International Space Station\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-18T07:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-04T14:38:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/\"},\"wordCount\":677,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/john-mcfall720x480.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"All Articles\",\"Purpl & Disability News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wp.purpldiscounts.com\/first-disabled-astronaut-to-go-to-the-international-space-station\/\",\"name\":\"First Disabled Astronaut to go to the International Space Station - 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