Today was the first flight day for the University of Arizona team and that meant myself and Danny Pagano were first up to board the "vomit comet." We donned our snazzy flight-suits and prepared for the flight with a quick injection of scopolamine (an anti-motion sickness drug.) After getting full briefing from the RGEFP people and the flight surgeon, we boarded the airplane that would perform the parabolas which simulate weightlessness.
Things happened in quite a rush, it seemed like we had just taken off when they told us to head up to our experiments and get them ready. We booted up the laptop, got the arduino gravity sensor up and running, and made sure all the cameras were on. Our experiment only required the lunar and martian gravity parabolas, so for the entire flight until the very end, we got to experience weightlessness without worrying about the experiment. It was the most amazing experience of my life. The feeling of being in microgravity is almost indescribable, it's almost as if you're swimming through the air, yet at the same time completely different. I'm sure it's a sensation I'll never forget (and one I really want to experience again someday.)
It wasn't very hard to get used to, although there were certainly times when I felt my body drifting off in an unplanned trajectory. Fortunately, I did not vomit at any point in time, but I did start feeling a bit woozy towards the end of the flight (one disadvantage of the injection over the pill is that it wears off quicker.)
If I could go back and redo the flight, there are only two things I would change: make sure I put the right memory card in my camera, and take more of an opportunity to do cool things like flips (even though the RGEFP people look down on that.) Overall, the experience as a whole -- experiment design, building, testing, and flying-- was a lot of work but very much worth it in the end; it's something I'll never forget and something I hope everyone can take part in someday!
It wasn't very hard to get used to, although there were certainly times when I felt my body drifting off in an unplanned trajectory. Fortunately, I did not vomit at any point in time, but I did start feeling a bit woozy towards the end of the flight (one disadvantage of the injection over the pill is that it wears off quicker.)
If I could go back and redo the flight, there are only two things I would change: make sure I put the right memory card in my camera, and take more of an opportunity to do cool things like flips (even though the RGEFP people look down on that.) Overall, the experience as a whole -- experiment design, building, testing, and flying-- was a lot of work but very much worth it in the end; it's something I'll never forget and something I hope everyone can take part in someday!
