A Commercially Available Reduced Gravity Environment For Scientific Experimentation

Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G) announced the establishment of the ZERO-G Weightless Lab Thursday. The specially designed two-day program provides the only commercial access to Martian, Lunar, zero and hyper gravity environments for scientific research. The program is open to academic, corporate and government agency applicants.

The ZERO-G Weightless Lab, which was specially designed to meet researcher's needs, offers clients the availability to charter a section of the plane rather than the entire plane, for the two-day program. The LAB offers a total of 25 parabolas, adequate storage space and a state-of-the-art containment unit for smaller research projects.

"The establishment of the ZERO-G Weightless Lab demonstrates ZERO-G and Space Adventures' continued commitment to open the space frontier to all," said Eric Anderson, President and CEO of Space Adventures/ZERO-G. "The ZERO-G Weightless Lab provides open access for commercial and government entities to conduct research in a reduced gravity environment that is not only affordable, but available today. The microgravity laboratory is completely operational; no test flights, development effort, or outside investment is required. Space is open for business!"

"When I traveled to the International Space Station (ISS), my most prized on-orbit activity was the protein crystallization project. The results were just as we predicted and my team has flown another specimen to the ISS since my flight," said Richard Garriott, Space Adventures' sixth orbital spaceflight client and the 1st second generation American astronaut. "The ZERO-G Weightless Lab is a great first-step in space-based research and it's available today."

All applicants must submit a Research Proposal Package. The proposal will be reviewed by ZERO-G's Research Staff and its airline partner, Amerijet International Cargo. Upon acceptance, ZERO-G will work to obtain proper FAA approvals for the experiments, including a Test Readiness Review. Past client projects have included studies in biomedical and pharmaceutical research, fluid and fundamental physics, materials science, aerospace engineering, space exploration hardware and human space habitation.

Two ZERO-G Weightless Lab flights have already been scheduled. On July 22-23, the plane will fly out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and on September 17-18, out of Memphis, TN. Additional dates and locations can be added if demand warrants.

FMI: www.gozerog.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Research_Programs.welcome