EXCLUSIVE! ANN Has Ringside Seat To Inaugural Flights of the
World's First Zero G Airline
Over the next few
weeks, we're going to have some amazing stories to tell. For over a
month, ANN's Jim Campbell has been working closely with X Prize
Founder Dr. Peter Diamandis and an incredibly talented (and truly
delightful... if a little crazy) group of people who have long
wished for the chance to experience one of the most remarkable
features of space travel... flights that offer the weightlessness
of Zero G.
For nearly 50 years, NASA has plied the skies of the world with
a modified KC-135, somewhat derisively known as the "Vomit Comet,"
doing Zero G research and training future aerospace professionals.
Only a very few got the coveted chance to experience the
extraordinary effects of NO GRAVITY as NASA's exclusive group of
flyers was a pretty small club. You either had to be an astronaut,
a scientist or a lucky journalist to get on board -- and even then,
competition for slots on those flights was known to be pretty
tough.
That was then.... this is now.
On Tuesday, an 11 year dream will OFFICIALLY come to fruition
and the Zero G Corporation will inaugurate FAA certified part 121
flights. These adventures will feature numerous demonstrations of
parabolic flight, inducing temporarily lessened gravitational
effects on and allowing a few dozen fliers, at a time, to feel what
it's like to walk on Mars (approximately 1/3 G), the Moon (about
1/6 G) and even the weightlessness of space (the world's greatest
weight loss plan... NO WEIGHT AT ALL!).
ANN's Jim Campbell has been training with the talented flock of
the Zero G Corp for the last month, recently been certified as a
Zero G coach and Zero G crew-member, and has also become one of the
civilian world's most experienced Zero G photographers over the
course of a number of flights and dozens upon dozens of lofty
parabolas. We're happy to report that what some might initially
categorize as a crazy idea has become a delightful and
professionally executed reality. Better than that, we predict
this offering will become THE thing to do when the standard
vacation adventure just isn't good enough anymore -- and until Burt
Rutan and his ilk manage to commercialize space travel (something
else Peter has plans to make happen)... this is about as realistic
a space adventure as the common man is likely to have the chance to
experience... at least, for a while.
Zero G has just embarked on a 2 week nationwide tour, in
collaboration with it's promotion partner Diet Rite soft drinks.
ANN is along for the ride and over the next few days and weeks,
we'll tell you what it's all about, how it came to fruition, what
an out-of-this world experience it really is... and how YOU can try
this out for yourself. You're gonna love this tale, folks....
To Be Continued