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NASA's Zero-g aircraft operationsNASA's Zero-g aircraft, operated by the Johnson Space Center, provides the unique weightless or zero-g environment of space flight for hardware development and test and astronaut training purposes. The program, which began in 1959, uses a slightly modified Boeing KC-135A aircraft, flying a parabolic trajectory, to produce weightless periods of 20 to 25 seconds. The program has supported the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz and Shuttle programs as well as a number of unmanned space operations. Typical experiments for flight in the aircraft have included materials processing experiments, welding, fluid manipulation, cryogenics, propellant tankage, satellite deployment dynamics, planetary sciences research, crew training with weightless indoctrination, space suits, tethers, etc., and medical studies including vestibular research. The facility is available to microgravity research organizations on a cost-reimbursable basis, providing a large, hands-on test area for diagnostic and support equipment for the Principal Investigators and providing an iterative-type design approach to microgravity experiment development. The facility allows concepts to be proven and baseline experimentation to be accomplished relatively inexpensively prior to committing to the large expense of a space flight.
Document ID
19890007655
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Williams, R. K.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
September 5, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1988
Publication Information
Publication: National Research Council of Canada, Workshop on Microgravity Experimentation in Aircraft and Rockets
Subject Category
Materials Processing
Accession Number
89N17026
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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