ABSTRACT
Aircraft parabolic flights are useful for performing short-duration scientific and technological experiments in reduced gravity. Parabolic flight experiments might also be sufficient as stand-alone, addressing a specific issue. This chapter introduces the objectives of parabolic flights for research and the flight profiles to achieve μg and partial-g environments. Prior to a campaign with an Airbus ZERO-G, space agencies and Novespace provide support in the experiment equipment design and in all related safety aspects. NASA has operated several KC-135 aircraft for reduced gravity research and astronaut training. The Cessna Citation II is a twinjet aircraft, a research aircraft owned and operated jointly by the Technology University of Delft and the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory in the Netherlands. A jet fighter F-5E Tiger II aircraft was used in Switzerland from Emmen Air Force Base for biological research contained in a small experimental apparatus installed in the cannon ammunition box.
