Tue, May 31, 2011
Allows Company To Conduct Reduced Gravity Parabolic Flights For
Commercial Crew Qualifications
Zero Gravity Corporation (Zero-G) has received a Safety Approval
from the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The Safety
Approval, granted on 20 April 2011 and in effect for five years,
allows Zero-G to offer reduced gravity parabolic flight profiles to
prospective suborbital launch operators to meet the applicable
components of the crew qualification and training requirements
outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations.
These regulations require crew members to complete training on
how to carry out their roles on board or on the ground and to
demonstrate the ability to withstand the stresses of spaceflight,
which may include high acceleration or deceleration, microgravity,
and vibration.
“Zero-G is pleased to have been granted this Safety
Approval issued by the FAA for suborbital spaceflight training.
Parabolic flight will be an integral training system for crew and
passengers in the growing suborbital market,” said Terese
Brewster, president of Zero-G.
The FAA has determined that Zero-G has the ability to provide a
flight environment capable of replicating reduced gravity levels.
These profiles include 0.00 g +/- 0.05 g for 17 continuous seconds,
0.16 g +/- 0.05 g for 20 continuous seconds and 0.38 g +/- 0.05 g
for 20 continuous seconds.
Dr. George Nield, Associate Administrator for Commercial Space
Transportation at the FAA, congratulated Zero-G on receiving the
Safety Approval. “The training that Zero-G offers with its
parabolic aircraft flights provides an outstanding opportunity for
crewmembers to experience firsthand the reduced gravity environment
that is so uniquely associated with spaceflight. By allowing
crewmembers to have that experience prior to launch, it will
definitely help them to be better prepared for their
missions,” he said.
“Not only does Zero-G have the capability of preparing
crew and passengers for spaceflight, the company also offers the
scientific community the opportunity to reduce the risk of
experiment failure prior to launch,” added Ms. Brewster.
“Parabolic flight is the critical first step in achieving
space research objectives. The Zero-G Weightless Lab increases the
probability that equipment will perform to specification and
experiment protocols will be successful while in space.”
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