High-Tech Tourism
Experiencing weightlessness
Approximate cost per flight: $4,000
Would-be astronauts can now experience zero gravity without leaving
the Earth's atmosphere. A modified Boeing 727-200 jet takes
passengers high in the sky, then flies in a special parabolic flight
path. As the plane arcs, defying the force of gravity, passengers
float through the padded cabin almost as if they were flying through
the air. A typical flight lasts about an hour and a half, with the
parabolic arcs occurring between about 24,000 and 34,000 feet. The
higher the arc, the more weightlessness one feels. Almost anyone can
participate, but the sensation can induce motion sickness in some
(hence the nickname astronauts give their similar training plane,
the "vomit comet").