The European Space Agency (ESA) announced the world's first disabled pilot on November 23, according to Engadget. John McFall, who lost his right leg at the age of 19, will be the first person recruited for a new program to research accommodation for disabled astronauts.
This agency has called for registration in March 2021, looking for people with disabilities who can pass rigorous physical and mental tests. The program will investigate the changes and costs needed to bring disabled astronauts into space.
The European Space Agency has selected John McFall from 257 participants and described him as the world's first "disabled space travel agency". In the spring of 2023, this traveler will enter a 12-month training program at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany.
In general, Ive been extremely interested in science and space exploration has always been a goal of mine, said John McFall, 41. But I had a motorbike accident at the age of 19 and could not join the armed forces for this reason.
After the accident that took away a leg from John McFall, he learned to run again with a prosthetic leg and won a bronze medal in the 100-meter run at the 2008 Olympics for the Disabled.
In addition, he has a number of medical degrees and was a reserve physician of the UK National Health Service from 2014 to 2016. John McFall is working as a consultant Trauma and Orthopedic specialist in South England.
In early 2021, when the disabled pilot recruitment advertisement appeared, I read the technical specifications and program requirements. I think this is a great and interesting opportunity, and I will be a very bright candidate to help ESA answer the question they are asking: Is it possible to put a disabled person in space? I felt compelled to apply, he added.
