Nasa's Vomit Comet
September 29, 2005
The Vomit Comet is the nickname for Nasa's C-9 airplane used to
simulate weightlessness for astronaut training. The C-9 replaced
two KC-135's previously used for this function. The Vomit Comet
engages in a flight lasting almost three hours entailing 30-40
parabolic loops in which gravity varies from earth's
gravitational pull to near weightlessness for a period of 25
seconds. The aircraft flies horizontally for a period of time
only to rise in a steep climb followed by the 25 second freefall.
The Vomit Comet received its name from the percentage of its
passengers who throw up on its flights. According to John
Yaniec, lead test director for NASA's Reduced Gravity Program,
roughly one third of its passengers vomit, one third get sick
but don't vomit, and the rest don't get sick at all. According
to Yaniec, most airsickness is caused by anxiety over the
upcoming flight.
The Vomit Comet is used to train future astronauts as well as to
carry out microgravity experiments. Many high school and college
science experiments have been carried out over the years on the
Vomit Comet. One of the original KC-135 Vomit Comets was used to
film scenes of the 1995 movie Apollo 13 starring Tom Hanks.