First disabled person floats free in zero gravity

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Physicist Hawking experiences zero gravity

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/26/hawking.flight.ap/index.html

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Astrophysicist Hawking

floated free in zero gravity Thursday, becoming the first person

with a disability to have the experience.

The zero-gravity flight in a modified jet creates the experience of

microgravity during 25-second plunges -- called parabolas -- over

the Atlantic Ocean.

" It was amazing, " Hawking, paralyzed by a progressive neurological

disorder, said afterward through an electronic device. (Go on a zero-

gravity flight)

" The zero-G part was wonderful and the full-G part was no problem. I

could have gone on and on.

" Space, here I come. "

Hawking, a mathematics professor at the University of Cambridge who

has done groundbreaking work on black holes and the origins of the

universe, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou

Gehrig's disease. He cannot speak or move.

He is one of the best-known theoretical physicists of his generation

and also wrote the book " A Brief History of Time. "

A doctor and three nurses monitored Hawking throughout the Zero

Gravity Corp. flight. The scientist floated in the air, free of his

wheelchair and electronic communication gear for the first time in

40 years.

The jet's interior is padded to protect the weightless fliers and is

equipped with cameras to record their adventure. Normally, the plane

conducts 10 to 15 plunges for its passengers who pay $3,750 for the

ride, although that fee was waived for Hawking.

After the jet reached its proper altitude, Hawking's assistants

lifted him out of his seat and laid him on his back in the front of

the cabin for the first plunge.

" We consider ... having him weightless for 25 seconds is a

successful mission, " Diamandis, chairman and CEO of Zero

Gravity, said before the flight. " If we do more than one, fantastic. "

Urged on by Hawking's smiles after the first parabola, they did

seven more, Diamandis said afterward.

" He was doing gold-medalist gymnastics in zero G, " Diamandis said.

Hawking has an ulterior motive for going on the flight other than

the personal thrill of weightlessness -- he believes in the

importance of private space ventures and the need to reduce the cost

of space tourism so that it is accessible to more people.

" Many people have asked me why I am taking this flight. I am doing

it for many reasons, " he said before the flight. " First of all, I

believe that life on Earth is at an ever increasing risk of being

wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war,

a genetically engineered virus, or other dangers. I think the human

race has no future if it doesn't go into space. I therefore want to

encourage public interest in space. "

Diamandis put it more poetically afterward:

" Professor Hawking reached for the sky and touched the heavens

today. "