posted 09-16-2004 08:15 AM
The National Space Society announced today that it will be the first public organization to charter a Zero Gravity Corporation parabolic flight. The flight, dubbed NSS-1, will take 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, 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.”
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut and former NSS Chairman, will be the honorary ‘Lead Flyer’ onboard the flight. The veteran space explorer will share his expertise in weightless maneuvers with other flyers.
“I am pleased to join with NSS on this pioneering adventure,” said Aldrin. “Floating and flying in weightless flight is the closest you can get to space travel without actually going into space. These early flights are the beginning of real public engagement with space experiences, a key development for our exploration future.”
Joining Aldrin will be leading personalities from entertainment, the news media, and business. Also onboard the flight will be school teacher Jason Hillman, an NSS member from the Houston area. Hillman will be recording 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, 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 in our country's space history."
posted 09-16-2004 08:15 AM
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