HOUSTON With its flying days at an end, NASA 930 has finally found a resting place HOUSTON With its flying days at an end, NASA 930 has finally found a resting place.
Commonly known as the "Vomit Comet" or "Weightless Wonder" this particular plane, a Boeing 707, started out life in 1959 as an Air Force aerial tanker, but was used in the space agencys microgravity experiments from 1973 to 1995.
| 'Weightless Wonder' Background |
| NASA 930, a KC-135A or military version of the Boeing 707 airliner, began life as an aerial tanker for the U.S. Air Force. Want to Learn More? |
Instead of being cannibalized for parts, or sent to an aircraft graveyard, the plane now guards the gate for Ellington Field and strikes a pose as if the KC 135-A was actually rolling down the runway with its nose gear in the air.
About 150 people attended the ceremony Monday where the space agency donated the plane to the City of Houston.
More than a few hapless astronaut candidates or researchers lost their lunch on some of the more than 58,000 parabolas flown by the plane to simulate microgravity -- or weightlessness -- conditions like those in space.
Cila Herman and doctoral students Gorkem Suner and Steven Marra got a ride on one of NASA's "Vomit Comets" to conduct microgravity research on bubbles
."When a guys stomach gets upset, its contagious," reminisced A.J. Roy, a retired NASA pilot who flew 930. "If you stay busy and dont think about it, youll be fine."
To simulate microgravity conditions, the plane ascended steeply, leveled off and began a dive. For 20 to 30 seconds people aboard the plane were able to experience weightlessness.
One of the planes final assignments was flying the actors and crew of the 1995 movie Apollo 13 to film scenes about the ill-fated trip to the moon.
Mayor Lee P. Brown accepted the plane on behalf of the city and declared it "KC 135 Day" in Houston.
"Im pleased to accept this and pleased I dont have to fly in it," Brown joked. "Its stationary now and Im much more comfortable."
Ellington Field, a former Air Force base, is now owned by the City of Houston and houses another KC 135-A used by NASA for microgravity experiments along with T 38 jet trainers used by the astronauts from nearby Johnson Space Center and the specially modified Boeing 377 Super Guppy cargo plane.
Roy retired from NASA about 18 months ago and also had the honor of flying the planes last parabolic maneuver in 1995 before it was retired. He flew more than 16,000 of the parabolas.
"It gets to be routine," he said. "But with the different missions and experiments you supported, it never got dull."
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