The accident to the U.S. Space Shuttle has resulted in a large backlog of Shuttle secondary payloads, such as Hitchhikers and Get Away Specials. Consequently, rockets and parabolic aircraft provide a much quicker access to microgravity. For a rocket, the microgravity time is five to seven minutes, and the time from the initial concept of an experiment to flight is about 1 1/2 to two years. Parabolic aircraft give 15 to 20 seconds of zero-g per parabola, and an experiment can fly to eight months after acceptance of the experimenter's proposal. This paper summarizes Canadian microgravity experiments that have flown on rockets, the NASA KC-135 aircraft, and the NRC (National Research Council of Canada) T-33 aircraft.
Canadian Microgravity Research Using Aircraft and Rockets
1988
6 pages
Report
No indication
English