Pioneering Weightless Flight Kicks Off Society's 30th
Anniversary Celebration
The National Space Society was the first public organization to
charter a Zero Gravity Corporation parabolic flight. The flight,
dubbed NSS-1, took off aboard ZERO-G's specially-modified Boeing
727 aircraft from Los Angeles' Burbank Airport on Friday, September
17.
"The members of this flight will be the first individuals to
purchase their own tickets to weightlessness in the US", said
George T. Whitesides (shown below, inverted, with fellow NSS member
Loretta Hidalgo), NSS Executive Director. "We are proud that those
individuals are NSS members."
"The day is coming when one can buy a ticket to space as easily
as a ticket across the ocean. NSS looks forward to working with
Zero Gravity Corporation to open a range of space experiences to
our members and the American public."
Among those on board were leading personalities from
entertainment, including the son of Star Trek creator Gene
Roddenberry, the news media, and business leaders. Also onboard the
flight was school teacher Jason Hillman, an NSS member from the
Houston area. Hillman recorded weightless experiments during the
flight to show the students back in Texas upon his return.
"Nothing excites kids like space," said Hillman. "I look forward
to sharing the wonder and science of zero gravity with students and
teachers back home."
The flight is the kickoff event for NSS' 30th anniversary, a
year-long celebration marking three decades of grassroots space
advocacy for a better future.
"At a time when the human race is irreversibly stepping off of
the planet," said Peter H. Diamandis (below), MD, Co-Founder and
CEO of Zero Gravity Corporation, "it is fitting that among the
first to sample The ZERO-G Experience are members of the National
Space Society and a legendary figure (Buzz Aldrin, who flew earlier
in the week) in our country's space history."
About the National Space Society
The National Space Society (NSS) is an independent,
international, grassroots organization dedicated to the creation of
a spacefaring civilization. Founded in 1974, NSS is widely
acknowledged as the preeminent citizen's voice on space. NSS counts
thousands of members and over 50 chapters in the United States and
around the world. The society also publishes Ad Astra magazine, an
award-winning periodical chronicling the most important
developments in space.
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