Hawking to Take Zero Gravity Ride

An anonymous reader writes "Well-known cosmologist Stephen Hawking is preparing for a once-in a lifetime trip. His goals are for even higher ground, but right now he's readying for an April zero gravity ride aboard NASA's 'vomit comet'. His ultimate goal is to take a ride on one of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic flights, and this is a 'test run' for that more rigorous experience. Though complex math ain't no thing for Dr. Hawking, his interests here are purely inspirational. 'Hawking says he wants to encourage public interest in spaceflight, which he believes is critical to the future of humanity. "I also want to show," he said in an e-mail interview, "that people need not be limited by physical handicaps as long as they are not disabled in spirit."'"

Comments

Does this mean its open to everyone?

[LiquidCoooled]

Does this mean that anyone can get to go for a ride?
I was under the impression you had to have a certain level of fitness and stamina.

I also cannot get the thought of the south park kid shouting "Timmmeh!" whilst riding the shuttle.

Article is grossly inaccurate

[Raynor]

FTFA:

"On April 26, Hawking, surrounded by a medical entourage, is to take a zero-gravity ride out of Cape Canaveral on a so-called vomit comet, a padded aircraft that flies a roller-coaster trajectory to produce periods of weightlessness. He is getting his lift gratis, from Zero Gravity, a company that has been flying thrill seekers on a special Boeing 727-200 since 2004 at $3,500 a trip."

Zero Gravity is taking him up... NOT NASA. It's NOT the Vomit Comet (NASA's plane).

From a better article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17156385/page/2/

"Parabolic flights can pose a risk of motion sickness or more serious health effects, but Zero Gravity's flights have been structured to minimize the risk. During a typical flight, Zero Gravity's "G-Force One" jet makes a gradual transition to weightless parabolas, and provides significantly fewer bouts of weightlessness than NASA's "Vomit Comet" jet. "