John McFall to Train for Haven-1 After UK-Vast Deal
SkimNews Take
The selection of a Paralympian for spaceflight training highlights how the physical demands of space travel are increasingly being re-evaluated through a lens of adaptive capability rather than traditional physical benchmarks.
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- John McFall, a 45-year-old Hampshire Paralympian (Beijing 2008, 100m bronze) and NHS orthopaedic surgeon, was cleared for orbital activities by ESA last year and will now train for a mission that could place him on Haven-1 as early as 2027.
- The UK Space Agency signed a memorandum of understanding with Vast — a California startup building Haven-1 — to help the company secure sponsorships funding McFall's flight; a private ISS mission as soon as next year remains an alternative.
- Haven-1, slightly smaller than a single-decker bus and fitted with a maplewood veneer interior and a domed Earth-viewing window, will house up to four astronauts, with McFall and crew traveling aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket.
- McFall's two-week mission will study how microgravity affects his body and modern prosthetic limbs, which depend on sensors and microprocessors, with potential applications for osteoporosis, muscle wastage, and amputee rehabilitation programs.
- A successful flight would make McFall the first Briton in space since Tim Peake's 2015-16 ISS mission; Peake called the deal "a landmark moment for inclusive human spaceflight."
Why it matters: The UK-Vast memorandum moves inclusive spaceflight from ESA certification to concrete flight funding — McFall, already cleared for orbital activity, will now train for a 2027 Haven-1 mission with a prosthetic-limb research agenda that targets osteoporosis, muscle wastage, and amputee rehabilitation. A successful flight would also close a nine-year British human-spaceflight gap that opened after Peake's 2015-16 mission.
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