Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G®) Company Background

Founded in 1993, Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G) is a privately held space entertainment and tourism company. Its mission is to bring the excitement and adventure of weightlessness to the public through a safe, fun and cost-effective experience. Headquartered in Las Vegas, ZERO-G is co-founded by space visionary and entrepreneur Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, veteran astronaut Dr. Byron K. Lichtenberg, and NASA engineer Ray Cronise. ZERO-G is the first and only FAA-approved provider of commercial weightless flights for the general public; The ZERO-G Experience™ launched in October 2004. ZERO-G has since successfully flown more than 2,500 passengers aboard 100 flights. In April 2006, ZERO-G became the first commercial company to gain permission from the Kennedy Space Center to use the shuttle runway and landing facilities, to operate its weightless flights. As of April 21, 2007, ZERO-G also offers regular flights for the general public from Signature Air Terminal at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

In 2006, ZERO-G joined with Northrop Grumman, sponsor of the Weightless Flights of Discovery, an innovative science and engineering education program that incorporates zero-gravity flight experiences for teachers. The program utilizes hands-on science workshops and ZERO-G’s unique weightless flights to help educators share the fun and excitement of science, technology, engineering and math with their students. The program realizes ZERO-G’s mission to utilize its capabilities for the public sector as a way to further teacher and student knowledge and understanding of science, while inspiring the next generation of space explorers. In its inaugural year, the program hosted 250 teachers representing 49 states, five U.S. territories and 24 countries. In 2007, ZERO-G and Northrop Grumman strive to fly approximately 400 teachers and college students.

Continuing its community outreach efforts, on April 26, 2007, ZERO-G flew Professor Stephen Hawking, the world’s leading expert in gravity, aboard G-Force One to raise funds for several charitable organizations including Easter Seals, the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation, the X PRIZE Foundation and Augie’s Quest. The flight took off from the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Central Florida.

How Weightless Flight is Conducted

ZERO-G conducts its weightless flights aboard G-Force One – a specially modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft. Able to accommodate up to 35 Flyers and six crew members, G-Force One is licensed at the highest levels of safety with the FAA following extensive testing and evaluations in coordination with the FAA. G-Force One flies a parabolic flight maneuvers – a controlled ascent and descent of that creates temporary weightlessness or reduced gravity. This is the identical weightless flight experience used by NASA to train its astronauts and used by Ron Howard and Tom Hanks to film Apollo-13.

How Parabolic Flight Maneuvers Create Weightlessness

Flyers undergo a brief training session before embarking G-Force One. The total flight duration is approximately 90 minutes, during which Flyers experience Martian gravity (1/3-gravity), Lunar gravity (1/6-gravity), and zero gravity.

G-Force One’s interior is divided into two zones. The rear area is called the Seating Zone, which provides seating and FAA-required provisions (i.e. emergency oxygen, escape path lighting, floatation device, etc.) for up to 35 cabin passengers and crew. The Floating Zone is the forward section (approximately 90 feet in length) where Flyers float and fly during the periods of weightlessness. For consumer flights, the floor and walls of the Floating Zone are covered with a special FAA-approved 1.5-inch energy absorbing Ensolite padding.

ZERO-G serves the general public (age 12 and over), the entertainment and film industry, corporate and incentive market, non-profit research and education sector, and the government.

ZERO-G follows the highest safety and risk mitigation standards as set by the FAA. Aircraft operations take place under Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, which are the same rules set for commercial passenger airlines. The company is fully insured and carries all required third-party and passenger liability insurance. Furthermore, ZERO-G crew are also FAA-certified.

ZERO-G leases the specially-modified Boeing 727-200 used to conduct its weightless flights from Amerijet International, Inc., a leading provider of global cargo transportation solutions headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. ZERO-G partnered with Amerijet in 2004 to obtain the first ever FAA certification for commercial parabolic flight operations, enabling the weightless flight experiences for the general public. Established in 1974, Amerijet is a multi-modal cargo provider with more than 100 offices worldwide, offering transportation via land, sea and air as well as logistics services. With its own fleet of all-cargo Boeing 727-200F aircraft and employing its own pilots, Amerijet provides scheduled common carriage service to more than 550 destinations, as well as single-flight charters, worldwide. Amerijet also provides ocean services (through its sister company, ITN), and intra-continental ground transportation services to offer customers comprehensive transportation solutions.
ZERO-G Senior Management
ZERO-G is led by a world-class team of veteran astronauts and experienced business leaders including:

Peter H. Diamandis, MD, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO – Founder of International Space University; Chairman X PRIZE Foundation; co-Founder of Space Adventures
Byron K. Lichtenberg, PhD, Co-Founder, Chief Astronaut – Founder of Association of Space Explorers; Captain, Southwest Airlines; NASA Payload Specialist and Astronaut
Noah McMahon, Chief Marketing Officer
David Russell, Senior Vice President, Operations
Robert Ward, Vice President, Flight Operations
Booking Flights

ZERO-G flights also may be chartered for private events. Since its launch in 2004, individual groups of family and friends to top- tier consumer brands like American Express, Hewlett-Packard, Google and Cadbury Schweppes have chartered ZERO-G flights. The ZERO-G Experience builds deep common memories that no ordinary gravity-bound exercise can equal. It is a unique way to express gratitude to important clients and partners. Flights can be rewards, incentives, celebrations and even revenue mechanisms for charitable institutions.

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Zero-G News

Stephen Hawking, who wrote the best-selling book, "A Brief History of Time," soon will experience a brief history with weightlessness. Hawking, who uses a wheelchair and is almost completely paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, plans to go on a weightless flight on April 26, officials at the flight operator said Thursday. The flight, operated by Zero Gravity Corp., a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based space tourism and entertainment company, will take off and return to a landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center.

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