Abstract
During the past few years the United States Air Force has been conducting a series of experiments on the effects of weightlessness.* In these series the zero gravity condition is obtained by flying specially equipped aircraft in a precision maneuver (Kep-lerian trajectory) during which time the effects of nearly complete weightlessness are felt by the occupants of the plane. In fighter* type aircraft, the period of weightlessness may extend to 40 sec; however, in such a vehicle, the subject must be strapped into place. In larger aircraft, such as the KC-135, the period of weightlessness may be as long as 32 sec and the subjects can float freely. It is expected that the X-15 aircraft, now under test, will expose the pilot to as much as 4 min of weightlessness. The first Mercury astronaut experienced 5 min of weightlessness. The first reported Russian manned flight is said to have involved about 90 min of zero gravity.
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Levine, R.B. (1961). Zero Gravity Simulation. In: Benedikt, E.T. (eds) Weightlessness—Physical Phenomena and Biological Effects. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6279-9_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6279-9_10
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