HOUSTON – The NASA turbojet notoriously known as the “vomit comet” for its use in training astronauts for weightlessness made its final flight Friday. Few among the two dozen seasoned passengers aboard got sick.
“It’s inevitable,” test director John Yaniac said.
NASA’s “Weightless Wonder” KC-135, a four-engine Boeing turbojet, was more commonly used by researchers to conduct experiments in a zero-gravity environment.
Everyone aboard the plane carries a sick bag in their flight suit and plastic bags are available to lock away the odor, said Donn Sickorez, who coordinates college students who conduct experiments aboard the plane.
“It’s just not a big deal,” said Sickorez, who was ill his first time up. “The point is to enjoy it and get good scientific data and not to feel bad.”
The KC-135’s final flight lasted almost three hours and made 50 steep climbs and dives used to achieve between 20 and 30 seconds of weightlessness at a time.
During the flight, researchers evaluated tile repair tools in a zero-gravity environment. Two astronauts assigned to the next shuttle mission, Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi, were among about two dozen aboard.
NASA got two KC-135s from the military, which originally used the aircraft for cargo and refueling. The first KC-135 – used in the movie “Apollo 13” staring Tom Hanks – was retired in 2000 and is on permanent display at Ellington Field, not far from the Johnson Space Center.
The final KC-135 will have its usable parts sold off and be placed in permanent storage in Arizona. It will be replaced by a Boeing C-9 aircraft next year.
Associated Press
The NASA KC-135, also known as the “Weightless Wonder,” lands Houston on Friday after its last training flight.
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