Vomit Comet - Definition and Overview

Weightlessness inside the Vomit Comet

The Vomit Comet was the nickname given to the KC-135 Stratotanker used by NASA's Reduced Gravity Research Program. The plane makes parabolic flight paths, thus allowing the occupants to experience reduced gravity during the latter half of the parabola. By modifying the flight path, any value for the apparent gravity may be produced. In general it is used to train astronauts in zero-g maneuvers, giving them about 25 seconds of weightlessness out of 65 seconds of flight.

The source of the nickname, of course, should be apparent.

Twin KC-135s served as the current iteration of The Vomit Comet. One was used for filming scenes involving weightlessness in the movie Apollo 13; that aircraft was retired in 2000 and is now on display at Ellington Field, near the Johnson Space Center. The other made its final flight on 29 Oct 2004, and is to be permanently stored in the AMARC boneyard in Arizona.

The next-generation Vomit Comet will be a McDonnell Douglas C-9, and will enter service some time in 2005.

External link

• KC-135A Reduced Gravity Research Program (http://jsc-aircraft-ops.jsc.nasa.gov/kc135/index.html)

References

• Easton, Pam (Oct. 30, 2004). NASA's weightless aircraft is retired (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2873672). Associated Press.