The 1987 TV movie Walking on Air was from a story by Ray Bradbury adapted into a teleplay by Ed Kaplan. It is one of probably only three Bradbury stories which were dramatized but never appeared in prose form. The other two are “Dial Double Zero,” which was dramatized in the special The Story of a Writer, and the segment “The Elevator,” which appeared in a 1986 episode of the 1985 incarnation of The Twilight Zone. It Came From Outer Space also deserves a mention. It was written as a movie treatment. Several versions were collected in book form, but it was never published as a story.

Sometime in the future, twelve-year-old Danny Pearson, who has been paralyzed from the waist down since birth, becomes fascinated with outer space. His science teacher, Mrs. Hepp, played by Lynn Redgrave, encourages Danny’s scientific interests and ambitions. When asked to give a definition of gravity, Danny flatly states, “Gravity is my enemy.”

Danny’s two best friends, Jason, played by James Treuer, and Emily, played by Kathryn Trainor, also have mobility problems. They and Danny’s parents try to talk him into being realistic, but Mrs. Hepp offers only encouragement for Danny’s aspirations and belief in his abilities.

Danny composes a letter to a NASA official and continues to pursue his goal by all means.

This is a beautiful and uplifting story. The only objectionable content is a brief smoking depiction. It is fine for all ages and highly recommended. Unfortunately it was the target of some mean-spirited hate mail by bitter disabled people, one of whom accused Bradbury of trying to get rid of the disabled by shipping them to outer space. These harshly critical complainers completely missed the entire point of this wonderful film.

Walking on Air is also unusual in that Bradbury may have written about disabled characters but this is almost certainly his only story in which the main character has a serious disability.

SPOILERS: These will spoil the ending for those who haven’t seen it and may spoil the story for those who have.

FACTS: NASA will not accept anyone under the age of 16 for training. Danny would have been rejected for his age before his disability. If allowed to go, he would certainly not have flown solo.

The first wheelchair user in space was Michaela Benthaus, a 33-year-old German aerospace engineer, who flew aboard a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket (NS-37) from Texas on December 20, 2025. Blue Origin is a space tourism company not affiliated with NASA. To date no NASA astronaut has been a wheelchair user.