In Brief

Zero Gravity Corporation Celebrates 10 Years of Weightless Flights

News
By Mike Wall
published

The Stern Family in Zero-G
The Stern family of Colorado spent their Fourth of July holiday in weightlessness during a Zero Gravity Corporation flight on July 4, 2010. (Image credit: Steve Boxall/Zero-G)

A company that makes some of the thrills of spaceflight more accessible to regular folks has hit a major milestone — 10 years of weightless flights.

The Virginia-based Zero Gravity Corp. (Zero G) has now been flying customers on a specially modified Boeing 727 jet for a decade. The plane, known as G-Force One, flies in parabolic arcs that generate brief periods of weightlessness.

Customers usually pay $4,950 for this experience, which can be exhilirating and nauseating at the same time. (G-Force One is sometimes referred to as a "vomit comet.") But the company is knocking 20 percent off the price for all future flights this year.

"We've flown over 500 weightless flights with more than 12,000 clients, including notables like Stephen Hawking, James Cameron, Kate Upton, Halle Berry, Martha Stewart, Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Dyrdek. It's been amazing!" Terese Brewster, ZERO-G president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we want to say 'thank you' by discounting all remaining 2015 seats."

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Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.