NASA Opportunities for Payloads Requiring an Near-Zero or Reduced Gravity Environment “Payloads selected under this announcement will fly on aircraft that provide parabolic flight trajectories and on suborbital reusable launch vehicles (sRLVs) that are capable of flying to altitudes above 100 km, providing exposure to reduced gravity and near-zero gravity environments. In exchange for the opportunity to fly, the proposer will provide data, designs, processes, and other relevant information to […]

Zero Gravity Corporation Awarded Safety Approval from the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation “The Safety Approval, granted on April 20, 2011 and in effect for five years, allows ZERO-G to offer reduced gravity parabolic flight profiles to prospective suborbital launch operators to meet the applicable components of the crew qualification and training requirements outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations (14 C.F.R. S 460.5). These regulations require crew members […]

Northrop Grumman Foundation Announces 2011 Weightless Flights of Discovery Program at National Science Teachers’ Association Conference “The Northrop Grumman Foundation announced today that the Foundation is accepting teacher applications for the 2011 Weightless Flights of Discovery program, a unique professional development initiative that places teachers on microgravity flights to test Newton’s Laws of Motion and energize students during their formative middle school years. The announcement was made during the National […]

NASA Seeks Proposals For Technology Flight Demonstrations And Information About Suborbital Flight Services “NASA is seeking proposals from researchers interested in testing new technologies during suborbital flights. The agency also is requesting information from commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicle providers and commercial payload integrators about carrying the technology payloads. The selected payloads will fly on aircraft that provide parabolic flight trajectories and on suborbital reusable launch vehicles capable of flying […]

First-Hand Look: One Family’s Unforgettable Zero Gravity Holiday, Space.com “Like many American families across the country, the Stern family of Colorado celebrated the Fourth of July holiday together on Sunday. But instead of a traditional barbecue or picnic, the family took to the skies for a novel weightless daytrip on a Zero Gravity Corporation (Zero-G) aircraft. Here, journalist and eldest Stern daughter Sarah Stern describes the experience of the July […]

NASA OIG Review of NASA’s Microgravity Flight Services “NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin released a report today that examines the performance of Zero Gravity Corporation (Zero G), a private company hired by NASA to provide reduced gravity flights for NASA research, engineering, and astronaut training. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that Zero G has provided inconsistent levels of microgravity flight services since it began providing NASA with […]

Student From Howard University Middle School of Math and Science Goes Weightless With Zero Gravity Corporation “This past weekend Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G(R)), the first and only FAA-approved provider of commercial weightless flights, hosted its exclusive ZERO-G Weightless Experience in Washington D.C. ZERO-G awarded 14-year-old Leaunteen Barnes of Howard University Middle School of Math and Science the Zero Gravity Striving for STEM Excellence Award. ZERO-G awarded Barnes the unique opportunity […]

Teachers Describe What It Is Like To Be Weightless (Video) “On 2 October 2009 a group of teachers from Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland participated in Northrop Grumman’s “Weightless Flights of Discovery” program. This experience involves flying a series of parabolas aboard Zero Gravity Corp’s G Force One jet during which you experience periods of weightlessness. After they returned to Earth, SpaceRef/OnOrbit caught up with two of the teachers, Catherine […]

Northrop Grumman Foundation Weightless Flights of Discovery Kicks Off Year Four “The Northrop Grumman Foundation is kicking off the fourth year of its Weightless Flights of Discovery Program, flying a total of 120 science and math teachers on four microgravity flights over the next two weeks. As part of the company’s goal to inspire the next generation of scientists, mathematicians and engineers – critical areas of learning and career development […]