Vomit Comet (original) (raw)

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Vomit Comet

Modified 707 airliner used by NASA for zero-G astronaut training. It would follow a parabolic course, obtaining pseudo-zero-G at the top of the parabola, but then pulling 2G's at the bottom. Dozens of parabolas would be flown on a mission; by the tenth the first participant would usually vomit, followed by most of the others as the mission went on. Even for those unaffected the odor became very unpleasant by the 20th parabola. Attendants had to be very careful that those training in 110-kg spacesuits or on sharp-edged hardware mockups were not injured when, over and over, they would quit floating and be pulled to the deck with 2G's force.

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