Microgravity is completely indescribable. It is something that must be experienced for oneself. As we entered the first 1.8g pull and I was pressed against the floor of the aircraft, I felt a mixture of fear, excitement, and relief that we had finally made it to this moment. All of this disappeared into nothing but full-blown panic as I felt myself being sucked off the floor and into the air. I held onto the payload for dear life, and my brain struggled mightily to process what it was seeing. Looking towards the front of the plane, I felt as if I was looking downwards (appropriate considering the aircraft's orientation), but I also felt as if the airplane was suddenly flying upside-down. The seconds went by like minutes, and eventually the NASA bluesuits called "30-low", the signal that we were exiting the parabola and beginning to climb for our next run. I fully expected to fall towards the ceiling and bash my head in, but fell to my feet before I laid down for the 1.8g pullout.
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| Eric's initial reaction to the microgravity environment |
My memory of the next several parabolas was very hazy, I remember on what I recall parabola 4, looking over and seeing Joel's phone spinning in the air in front of him. It was at this very moment that I began to appreciate the sensation I was experiencing.
Before I knew it, we were in the turn to begin flying back towards Ellington Field. The rest of the zeros were exciting and fun before we ended the flight with our 2 Lunar parabolas and 2 Martian parabolas. The partials actually felt stranger than the zeros, but I don't really know why. They were just... different.
The experience was absolutely incredible, and something that everybody should do at least once. I hope I get the chance to do it again.
