VOMIT COMET

Creator: NASA

Format: 16mm

Description: This undated NASA footage is from the Apollo era, and shows zero G tests conducted aboard a reduced gravity aircraft, probably NASA's Convair C-131 Samaritan or possibly a KC-135 aircraft. In the footage, test subjects -- some in flight helmets -- are shown in simulated weightless conditions. At 2:28, subjects perform simulated tasks, presumably to assess the ability of astronauts to perform similar tasks in space. A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots. The planes are sometimes called "vomit comet" because they can induce motion sickness for participants.

Complete Record: This undated NASA footage is from the Apollo era, and shows zero G tests conducted aboard a reduced gravity aircraft, probably NASA's Convair C-131 Samaritan or possibly a KC-135 aircraft. In the footage, test subjects -- some in flight helmets -- are shown in simulated weightless conditions. At 2:28, subjects perform simulated tasks, presumably to assess the ability of astronauts to perform similar tasks in space. A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots. The planes are sometimes called "vomit comet" because they can induce motion sickness for participants.