A taste of space with world's first disabled astronaut, John McFall

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A taste of space with world's first disabled astronaut, John McFall

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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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