First commercial weightless flights take off from Moffett Field

Looking to lose a few pounds? How about all of them for 90 minutes, at least. Zero Gravity Corporation, the only commercial company federally approved to offer weightless flights, arrived on the Peninsula this weekend after receiving permission from NASA last month to fly from its Mountain View facility, Moffett Federal Airfield. On board for the company’s first flight from Moffett Field on Saturday was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and his fiancee Jennifer Siebel, who were guests of a client chartering a private flight, Zero Gravity spokesman Noah McMahon said. Newsom attended “because he wanted to experience weightlessness,” McMahon said. “It’s the only way to do it without going to space.” The mayor was not available for comment Monday. The Las Vegas-based company’s expansion into the Bay Area was prompted by both customer demands and a new agreement with NASA, McMahon said. Under the contract, signed last month, Zero Gravity will be performing flights for NASA astronaut training at its centers in Houston, Texas and Cleveland, Ohio, according to a company statement. The agreement also paved the way for the company to use NASA runways and facilities for flights elsewhere, including Moffett Field, McMahon said. “The same aircraft that guests use is that which NASA will be using to train astronauts and do experiments,” McMahon said. Before this weekend, the company had occasionally chartered flights from San Jose International Airport for local companies including Hewlett-Packard, Google and Intel, McMahon said. But flying from the San Jose airport lacked the authenticity of using the NASA facility, he said. So to capitalize on local interest, the company plans to hold regular public flights from Moffett Field roughly once every other month. “We have quite a few customers that came in from the Bay Area to fly on other flights, so it makes sense to take the airplane to them,” McMahon said. Zero Gravity has been offering commercial weightless flights since October 2004 and has hosted such amateur astronauts as Martha Stewart, Stephen Hawking and cast members of “The Apprentice” and “The Biggest Loser,” as well as actual astronauts including Buzz Aldrin, according to its Web site. The sensation of weightlessness is created through “parabolic flight maneuvers,” a controlled ascent and descent that reduces gravity on “G-Force One,” a specially modified Boeing 727-200 airplane, complete with padded walls and floors, according to the company. The company’s prices may lop a little weight off fliers’ pocketbooks as well. A seat on a chartered 90-minute flight rings up at $3,500, including training with a professional astronaut, a flight suit, photos and a DVD of the experience, and an after-party, according to a company e-mail sent on Monday. Still, Santa Clara County Airport Commission Chair Bob Lenox predicted the company would find local enthusiasts. “There’s a lot of would-be astronauts out there,” Lenox said. “I think it will appeal to a lot of geeks like me.” The company’s next public flight from Moffett Field will be on July 12.

Teachers defy gravity to promote science

As she floated three feet above the floor Sunday, Rita Kaplan couldn’t believe it: She actually felt like an astronaut in space. ”This is total euphoria,” said Kaplan, a veteran science teacher at Southwest Miami Senior High School. “I’ve never felt anything like this in my life.” A few feet away, Emery Atkinson, an earth science teacher at North Miami Senior High, did back flips and barrel rolls without touching the floor. ”I’m speechless,” said Atkinson. “My students are going to love this.” Despite their gravity-defying antics, the two never left the Earth’s atmosphere. Instead, they were on a Boeing 727 that made a series of steep dives, rendering everything inside weightless for about 30 seconds per dip. Kaplan and Atkinson were among nearly two dozen Florida teachers selected to participate in the zero-gravity flight out of Cape Canaveral. The trip was sponsored by Space Florida, an office of the state created to promote and develop Florida’s aerospace industry. During the short periods of zero gravity, the teachers soared like Superman, conducted experiments and chased M&Ms down with their mouths — all in the name of promoting the sciences and engineering in Florida. They will share photographs with their students and describe their experience Tuesday. ”It’s going to be such a hoot for them to see me flying around the plane,” Kaplan said. “I hope they’ll get excited and start thinking about the possibilities for their own lives.” In parabolic flight, a method used to train astronauts for more than four decades, the plane flies a path that resembles rolling hills. As the aircraft climbs, passengers are pressed against the floor for a half-minute of hypergravity. As it goes over the hump and then dives, they rise off the floor and begin to float. The experience is akin to the free fall of a sky dive, only without the wind resistance. Parabolic flight was recently made available to the public: A company called the Zero Gravity Corporation runs a limited number of commercial flights, charging about $4,000 per person. Space Florida hosts about four parabolic flights for teachers each year, spokeswoman Deb Spicer said. Kaplan, a 31-year educator, won her seat in a raffle at the Florida Association of Science Teachers. Atkinson was selected because of his involvement in the NASA’s Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy program. Before the flight, Atkinson let his students vote on what experiments he would conduct in zero gravity. Overwhelmingly, they voted to have their teacher tossed like a ball between two of his colleagues. Early Sunday morning, Atkinson, Kaplan and the other teachers met at the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville. Each was given a navy blue flight suit, a light breakfast and a small pill to help control motion sickness. They sat for a 30-minute pre-flight briefing and then boarded a bus to a small airport nearby. The energy was palpable. ”I’m out of my skin with excitement,” Kaplan said. “It doesn’t feel real.” At the airport, the jet, called ”G-Force One,” was waiting for the teachers. From the outside, it looks like a typical commercial airliner. But inside, most of the seats have been removed and replaced by white padding. During the next hour, the plane did a series of 15 dives, giving the teachers about eight minutes of weightlessness. They experimented with yo-yos, springs and Koosh balls. They watched golf-ball-sized globs of water float across the plane. All the while, they laughed, screamed and cheered like schoolchildren. ”This just proves that teachers are like big kids,” said Robert Dull, a Pinellas County teacher. “This is like being on a playground.” Goofing around aside, the teachers had a serious mission: to promote science education. As part of the program, they will bring pictures and a DVD of their experience back to their classrooms. They’ll talk to their students about about gravity and Newton’s Laws of Motion, and stress careers in the sciences and engineering. To drive the point home, Atkinson and Kaplan will wear their flight suits to school. ”When they see stuff like this, they start asking questions,” Atkinson said of his students. “And when you get this group to start asking questions, that’s an amazing thing.”

NASA Offers More Commercial Weightless Flights

NASA will host commercial weightless flights this weekend. The space agency announced that the flights, at Moffett Field, Calif., are sold out, but more flights will be scheduled for later this year. The flights are a result of an agreement between NASA and Zero Gravity, of Las Vegas. A Reimbursable Space Act Agreement between NASA’s Ames and Zero-G allows the company to use the airfield while conducting its flights. At also forms the basis for research cooperation between NASA and Zero-G, scheduled to begin this fall. The company will use a modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft, called G-Force One, with passengers aboard on Saturday. The passengers will feel the same weightlessness that astronauts experience while orbiting the Earth and the same gravity conditions they would encounter on the moon and Mars. The weightlessness will last for brief periods during the flight. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman of Zero-G, which recently received a NASA contract to research astronaut training, said passengers will be able to “fly like Superman and float in midair just like NASA astronauts from an actual NASA center.” The Boeing 727-200 is one of the quietest aircrafts in service, NASA said. Zero-G said the flights will occur during daylight hours and not interfere with its operations. The company will reimburse NASA for runway and support costs. Zero-G began offering weightless flights to the public in June 2006, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company operated up to seven flights per week, up to a maximum of 280 flights a year in Florida. Ames director S. Pete Worden said the cooperative agreement between NASA and Zero-G will enhance the space agency’s partnerships with the growing commercial space industry.