The man on a mission to open up space to disability
By Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis
Former Paralympian John McFall is working with the European Space Agency on a ground-breaking study to see if it’s feasible for someone with a physical disability to live and work in space. BBC News has been following his progress as he undergoes astronaut training.
It’s a test that any budding astronaut has to go through. But it’s not for the fainthearted – or the claustrophobic.
With a clang, the door slams shut, enclosing John McFall in the darkness of a coffin-sized metal box.
The spinning begins.
He’s in a giant centrifuge, being whizzed around and around, to mimic the extreme gravitational forces of a rocket launch – and the even more extreme G-Forces of coming back down.
“The faster it spins, the higher the G load,” John explains.
“And today we’re going to be going up to about 6 Gs – so six times the force of gravity. It replicates what it would be like during re-entry into the atmosphere in a Soyuz capsule.”
