The Parabolic Flight of Zero-G Aircraft and Its Application

Weightlessness is one of the most important factors in spaceflight.Inorder to train astronauts and to test design concepts and operational procedures,a micro-gravity environment is needed. Whereas by classical simulation facilities ,simulation ofweightlessness on the earth is much more difficult. The simple and economic method isparabolic flight , offering 15～60s microgravity depending on the aircraft used and thequality of microgravity required. 25 to 40 parabola flights are possible on a single flightday with a medium size aircraft , parabolic flight produces real weightlessness in the phys-ical sense. The residual gravity is only in the range of 0.02 to 0.05G. This paper sum-marizes the simulation programme for creating a microgravity environment , the principlesand techniques of parabolic flight , and the main requirements for zero-G aircrafts. Casesof use of zero- G aircrafts over the world were introduced.