Freefall! -- The Weightless Experience

ZERO-G Weightless Experience (ZG001) duplicates the effects of sustained weightlessness in space on board a modified Boeing 727-200. The flight crew produces zero-g effects by flying a specially shaped (parabolic) trajectory that delivers about 30 seconds of weightlessness during each of 15 maneuvers on the 90-minute flight. A couple of guys named Peter Diamandis and Brian Lichtenberg founded ZERO-G in the ‘90s. The company achieved FAA certification of its aircraft, G-FORCE ONE, in 2004. Patents are involved. This is the same kind of training NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts get. Chinese, too, more than likely. ZERO-G’s customers include film-makers (sequences from The Matrix were filmed onboard), corporate team-building and incentive programs, educational programs, microgravity researchers, and adventure travelers. We think it’s a nice intro to spaceflight if you’re nervous about going to Mars.