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Background Information About the KC-135 and the Reduced-Gravity ProgramThe Reduced-Gravity Program, operated by the NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC), provides engineers, scientists, and astronauts alike, a unique opportunity to perform testing and training in a weightless environment but without ever having to leave the confines of the earth's orbit. Given the frequency of Space Shuttle missions and the anticipated construction and eventual habitation of the New International Space Station, the Reduced-Gravity Program provides a truly ideal environment to test and evaluate space hardware and experimental procedures prior to launch. The Reduced-Gravity Program was established in 1959 to investigate the reactions of humans and hardware during operations in a weightless environment. A specially modified KC-135 turbojet (KC-135A), flying parabolic arcs, produces periodic episodes of weightlessness lasting 20-25 secs. The KC-135 is sometimes also flown to provide short periods of lunar (1/6) and Martian (1/3) gravity.
Document ID
20000026336
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Other
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1999
Publication Information
Publication: KC-135 and Other Microgravity Simulations
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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