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NASA, Space Tourism Company Agree on Shuttle Runway Use

05 April 2006

First U.S. commercial weightless flight for public scheduled for June 24

By Cheryl Pellerin
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – NASA and a private space entertainment and tourism company announced April 4 that the company will begin regular use of the space shuttle's runway and landing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The agreement is the result of a successful pilot program to expand runway access for non-NASA activities.

Beginning with its first flight for the public June 24, a Florida-based company, Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G), will conduct up to 280 weightless flights per year from the Kennedy facility using a modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft called G-Force One.

"We are extremely pleased to have ZERO-G sign on as a regular user of our Shuttle Landing Facility," said Kennedy Space Center Director Jim Kennedy. "This is the ideal place for activities that share the experience of space flight with the general public."

On December 29, 2005, The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, whose Office of Commercial Space Transportation is charged with regulating commercial space flight crew and passengers, proposed requirements for crew qualifications and training and for passenger training and informed consent. Those rules have not yet become final. (See related article.)

Each ZERO-G flight has room for 27 passengers and costs $3,750 plus tax per person. Full flights (all 27 seats) are available for a discounted rate.

The flights will expose passengers to the weightlessness astronauts experience while orbiting Earth.

The roller coaster-like parabolic flights also will let flyers experience the same gravity conditions one would feel on the moon and on Mars, offering a glimpse of what future NASA crews will encounter.

WEIGHTLESS FLIGHT

On a parabolic flight – named for the curved path of the aircraft as it flies from Earth to about 10,000 meters altitude, then back to Earth – weightlessness is achieved by flying G-Force One between 7,315 meters and 10,363 meters altitude.

Each parabola takes 16 kilometers of airspace to perform and lasts about one minute from start to finish.

“The maneuver,” according to information on the ZERO-G Web site, “is somewhat like a roller coaster in that the plane is initially pulled up to approximately 45 degrees ‘nose high’” – the plane’s nose pointing upward.

Next, the plane pushes over the top of the curve to reach the zero-gravity segment of the parabola. For 25-30 seconds, everything in the plane is weightless. At about 30 degrees “nose low” – the plane’s nose pointing downward – a gentle pullout begins that lets passengers stabilize on the aircraft floor, then the g-force (the force of acceleration due to gravity at Earth's surface) is increased smoothly until the aircraft reaches a flight altitude of 7,315 meters. The pilot then repeats the maneuver.

The weightlessness that passengers experience is like the "free fall" people experience when sky diving, but the aircraft protects them from on-rushing wind.

In addition to achieving zero-gravity or weightlessness, G-Force One also can fly a parabola that offers Lunar (1/6th) or Martian (1/3rd) gravity. The reduced-gravity environments are created with a modified parabola that is not quite as steep as the zero-gravity parabola.

COMMERCIAL SPACEFLIGHT

NASA agreed to permit as many as seven ZERO-G flights a week under a Space Act Agreement that provides for reimbursement of the agency's runway and support costs.

In November 2005, ZERO-G became the first company to participate in the pilot program to open the 4,572-meter runway for non-NASA use.

The agreement is the first for regular non-NASA flights from the space center. NASA hopes the agreement will broaden the public's interest in spaceflight and increase awareness of its importance.

"Conducting our flights from the Kennedy Space Center – one of the most internationally recognized and frequented venues for space travel and education – is a perfect match for ZERO-G," said ZERO-G Chairman Peter Diamandis.

Diamandis, who has undergraduate and graduate degrees in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, is also chairman and chief executive of the X PRIZE Foundation, a nonprofit organization promoting the formation of a space-tourism industry through a $10 million prize.

"This is a meaningful step in the growth and expansion of our service,” he added, “as we continue to bring the fun and exhilaration of weightless flight to the general public."

The scheduling of ZERO-G flights from the Kennedy Space Center will not interfere with NASA missions or other activities, according to NASA.

More information about ZERO-G is available at the company Web site. Information about partnerships with NASA through the Kennedy Space Center is available at the NASA Web site.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)