Parabolic flights are practically the only terrestrial means of reproducing weightlessness with human operators on board.

During a parabolic flight, the Airbus A-300 "Zero-G" pilot -- flying at an altitude of approximately 6,000 meters, usually in a specially reserved air corridor above the Bay of Biscay -- first performs a nose-up maneuvre to put the aircraft into a steep climb (to 7,600m). This generates an acceleration of 1.8g (1.8 times the acceleration of gravity on the ground) for about 20 seconds.

Then the pilot reduces engine thrust to almost zero, injecting the aircraft into a parabola. The plane continues to climb until it reaches the apex of the parabola (8,500m), when it starts descending. This descent lasts about 20 seconds, during which the passengers in the cabin float in the weightlessness resulting from the free fall of the aircraft.

When the angle below the horizontal reaches 45°, the pilot accelerates again and pulls the aircraft back up to steady horizontal flight. The maneuvres are repeated 30 times per flight.

During the October 15-19 parabolic flight campaign, the 31st organized by ESA, preparations will be made for experiments to be conducted later on a Russian Foton satellite and on board the International Space Station.

The campaign will focus on physical sciences, life sciences and biology. Ten experiments proposed by international teams of investigators, five in physical sciences, three in human physiology and two in biology, including one from a group of students, will be performed.

In the physical sciences field, one of the experiments is related to fluid physics, a combustion experiment will study diffusion flames, another experiment will investigate plasma and the last two will study interactions of cosmic and atmospheric particle systems in the framework of an international research program.

In life sciences, three experiments will measure physiological parameters in human subjects and two biology experiments will investigate movements of plants and fish.

All these experiments have been reviewed and selected by peers prior to flight. A list of the experiments and scientists involved in the 31st parabolic flight campaign can be found at this URL.

The next (32nd) ESA parabolic flight campaign is scheduled for spring 2002 and will have a mixed complement of experiments in life and physical sciences, including experiments proposed by students.

Further information on ESA parabolic flights can be found on ESA's special parabolic flight internet pages at this URL.

[Contact: Vladimir Pletser]

16-Oct-2001