Hawking's Excellent Adventure
Editor’s note: I just received this from ZeroG:
“For Peter, and everyone who helped us into Zero G: I just wanted to thank you again for the fantastic experience we all had while flying in Zero G. Just as you said, I have seen nothing but smiles all day. When Stephen saw the news video on your laptop, over dinner after the Zero G flight, this is what he said:
“After 40 years of disinterest, space travel is finally coming back into the news.”
May this wonderful trend continue! Thanks, regards and have fun, Sam Blackburn”
“It was amazing. The zero-g part was wonderful,” said Professor Stephen Hawking. “I could have gone on and on space here I come!” Hawking added, “I recommend the experience to everyone and I hope that many will follow me and experience weightlessness. There are a few people and organizations I would like to thank. First I’d like to thank Zero Gravity Corporation, The Shaper Image and Peter Diamandis for arranging this for me. Second, I’d like to thank Space Florida and the NASA Kennedy Space Center for being my host. The Space Shuttle Landing Facility is the first step to the moon and Mars. It is very special for me, to fly into weightlessness from here.”
Hawking goes zero-G: ‘Space, here I come’, MSNBC (with video)
“He had a wonderful time. Far beyond our expectations,” Diamandis said. “The medical indications were better than expected.” After six parabolas, Zero Gravity tried to call it quits, but Hawking insisted they do more, said Noah McMahon, chief marketing officer for Zero Gravity and Hawking’s coach for the flight. They decided to keep going because he was doing so well.”
Space Florida Microgravity Center Named for Stephen Hawking
“Space Florida announced the renaming of its innovative microgravity center to honor the acclaimed cosmologist and theoretical physicist. The new name will be the Stephen Hawking Microgravity Education and Research Center.”
Weightless Over Cleveland – Part 2: Learning to Fly, SpaceRef
“The next parabola was truly unique. As Matt yelled out “Zero G” everyone cheered – and suddenly there I was. After imagining what it would be like for nearly all of my 50 years, I was weightless. The only word I can find that describes the experience was “perfectly natural”. It wasn’t profound as I somehow thought it might be. As each parabola came and went I would become quickly accustomed to how to function in weightlessness – with a new skill added with each brief exposure. Adapting to weightlessness is something humans do automatically.”
World’s leading expert in gravity to experience zero-gravity for the first time
“Zero Gravity Corporation, the provider of weightless flight experiences for the general public, will host renowned British cosmologist and best-selling author, Professor Stephen Hawking, aboard a historic zero-gravity flight.”
