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Travel
News, November, 2008
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ESA to offer zero gravity rides to space tourists
London:
The European Space Agency (ESA) is planning to offer
zero-gravity rides to passengers on an airplane, giving
a boost to the fledging space-tourism market. According
to a report in New Scientist, the airplane would fly in
a cycle of steep 45 degree climbs and shallower 30 degree
dives, providing snatches of weightlessness as it goes
over the top and starts each descent. This parabolic technique
has been used for decades to train astronauts, test equipment
for space programmes and for scientific research, with
planes taking part in NASA's programme being dubbed "vomit
comets". The ESA uses a converted Airbus A300 operated
by the French space agency CNES for microgravity training
and testing. It follows a flight path rather like an 8000-foot-high
roller coaster over the Atlantic. Plans to open up the
experience to paying guests were recently revealed by
the ESA on a special flight for European officials and
media. "Today there are no regulations that authorise
this, but a few times a year we could have exceptional
authorisation where we mix science and demonstrations
for observers," said French astronaut Jean-Francois Clervoy,
who heads the CNES unit that operates the flights. Clervoy
said that he hopes to start public flights within a year,
with a price tag of 3000 Euros for 30 parabolas, each
providing 22 seconds of weightlessness, a total of 11
minutes. Sales would sponsor research onboard the aircraft,
not generate profits, according to Clervoy. A commercial
company based in Florida, Zero Gravity Corp, already offers
vomit-comet flights with 15 parabolas for 4950 dollars,
and last year took physicist Stephen Hawking on a weightless
experience. According to Clervoy, though trips like these
cost a fraction of the 30 million dollars to 35 million
dollars, paid by wealthy "space tourists" for the ultimate
ride into orbit, the weightless experience is exactly
the same.
-Nov 12, 2008
Leading
Indian News Papers
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