A taste of space with world's first disabled astronaut, John McFall
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 9:25 am
John is investigating how his disability could affect life and work in space
By Rebecca Morelle
Science Editor, BBC News
John McFall is the European Space Agency's first ever para-astronaut, selected to study how feasible it is for someone with a physical disability to live and work in space. BBC News joined him on board a parabolic flight, where he experienced weightlessness for the first time.
One minute John McFall is lying on the floor of a plane. The next, he starts to float upwards, still horizontal, seemingly levitating towards the ceiling.
He looks astonished - everyone on this far-from-normal flight does, as they slowly rise into the air. The sensation of being weightless, no longer pinned down by gravity, is extraordinary.
You feel totally out of control - because you are. Any tiny movement against something solid sends you catapulting around the cabin, bouncing into walls and people. It's like being in a slow-motion pinball machine.
A smile begins to form across John's face - he starts laughing. "It's brilliant, it's amazing," he says.
Then suddenly, the weightlessness is gone and he falls to the ground.
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