Ride the Vomit Comet

Stranger4U writes "NASA and the Texas Space Grant Consortium have this program which gives undergraduate college students a chance to design a zero-g experiment and then fly it on their special KC-135 "Vomit Comet." The Vomit Comet is flown in thirty parabolic loops, each loop having a thirty-second period of near zero gravity."

Comments

Oh, me first

[milgram]

Thanks, I will stick to the normal hassle of I-95.

Re:Parabolic loop?

[joto]

Well, if you feel like you must nitpick, you should probably be aware of that it is tops that are the zero g portions of the trip. The bottoms would have more g, of course...

Anyway, you are correct in pointing out that Stranger4U got it wrong, it should really be parabolic arcs, not loops. You can view the details here, although it should be pretty obvious for anyone who have a grasp of high-school physics.

I've flown it TWICE

[boarder]

Well, since this isn't on the front page (yet), I guess I can get in and post my personal experiences on this early.

I've flown the KC-135 (aka "weightless wonder", "vomit comet", "zero-g bird", etc. [NASA hates the term vomit comet]) twice with this program by the Texas Space Grant Consortium and NASA. It is a great opportunity to get design/build/test experience, national media exposure, and have a fun time on the ride (there's some scientific merit, too). The program was run very well and it has helped me to get jobs and other research. It was also a lot of fun.

If you've never been weightless before, it's awesome. You get about 23 seconds per parabola and then a 2-g pull up that is almost more interesting than the weightlessness. During the weightless section, objects will float around (screws, paper, people) and then they fall to the ground hard when the 2-g pullout starts. Water is also very interesting; when the 2-g section hits, it is almost like it is raining if someone spills water from the drinks or experiments. They can also do flight routines that simulate Moon and Mars gravity. Playing football on the Moon gravity was pretty cool.

I personally never got sick during the first trip up (while a friend of mine threw up 33 times... literally). It felt completely natural to me. On the second flight I got sick one time after we had already landed and were taxiing in. I was sick that morning before the flight and for the next couple days so I think I just had the flu.

The 2-g section is pretty cool, too. You can do push ups and situps (extremely difficult), or look like an idiot by trying to jump up and down but only getting a 3 inch vertical.

If you're an undergrad and an engineer or science major, you should look into it; even if you don't want to fly, but just to get some research in zero-g. You do have to pass a physical exam and go through physiological training at NASA (hyperbaric champers, etc), though.