Spaceflight

4–5 minutes

ESA reserve astronaut John McFall, floating on a parabolic aircraft flight, has been medically certified for long-duration space station missions. Credit: ESA/Novespace

TAMPA, Fla. — The U.K. government is exploring sending British astronaut John McFall to Vast’s planned Haven-1 space station in a mission it says could make him the first person with a physical disability to live in orbit.

The UK Space Agency announced an agreement June 2 to support the U.S.-based company in securing sponsorships to fund the 14-day mission, slated for some time after Haven-1’s planned launch on a Falcon 9 rocket next year.

The single-module station is designed to start accommodating four crew members between a few weeks and a few months after launch, using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Currently scheduled to stay in low Earth orbit for three years, Haven-1 would serve as a stepping stone to a continuously crewed, multi-module station dubbed Haven-2.

Vast declined to specify how much sponsorship it requires under the agreement, which it announced a day after unveiling plans for a Paris headquarters and lining up two French astronauts for its missions, including one singled out for the first flight to Haven-1.

A British government spokesperson said the agreement’s intent is for sponsorship to cover the mission’s full cost.

“UKSA will be supporting meetings with potential sponsors to bring the mission to life, and on a legal and regulatory requirements perspective,” the spokesperson added. A render of Haven-1 with Dragon docked. Credit: Vast

McFall, a surgeon and European Space Agency reserve astronaut who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident, last year became the first person with a physical disability to be medically cleared for a long-duration mission.

He was selected by ESA in 2022 as part of the Fly! Project, which aims to pioneer the inclusion of astronauts with physical disabilities in space.

Onboard Haven-1, McFall would conduct research into human physiology, musculoskeletal adaptation, prosthetic performance in microgravity and how people move in orbit.

Michaela Benthaus, a German engineer at ESA, became the first wheelchair user to reach space on a Blue Origin suborbital flight in December that lasted about 10 minutes.

“This agreement with Vast brings us one step closer to making history, and to showing the world that space is for everyone,” British Space Minister Liz Lloyd said.

“The U.K. is committed to being at the forefront of inclusive human spaceflight. This builds on the ground-breaking work John has already done and opens the door to a genuine flight opportunity. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”

The British government said the agreement also establishes a broader framework of collaboration with the United States, covering scientific research and technology development in low Earth orbit, education and public engagement.

A spot on Haven-1 could also make McFall the first Brit to go on an orbital spaceflight in more than a decade, following Tim Peake’s 2015 mission to the International Space Station.

In 2023, the UK Space Agency announced a similar agreement with Axiom Space, which is also developing a space station, to pursue a fully commercially sponsored U.K. astronaut mission to the ISS, but has made little public progress since.