The 30 ESA parabolic flight campaigns : Overview and main results of short duration microgravity research
- Paper ID
IAF-01-J.3.05
- author
- company
Microgravity Projects Division, Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity Directorate, European Space Research an Technology Center, European Space Agency
- country
The Netherlands
- year
2001
- abstract
Aircraft parabolic flights provide repetitively up to 20 s of reduced gravity during ballistic flight manoeuvres. Parabolic flights are used to conduct short microgravity investigations in Phy- sical and Life Sciences, to test instm- mentation and to train astronauts before a space flight. The use of parabolic flights is complementary to other microgravity carriers and preparatory to manned space missions. The European Space Agency (ESA) has organized since 1984 thirty parabolic flight campaigns for microgravity research experiments utilizing six different airplanes. More than 400 experiments were successfully conducted during more than 3000 parabolas, representing a cumulated time of 17h30m of weightlessness, equivalent to more than 11 low Earth orbits. Since 1997, the Airbus A300 'Zero G' is used in Europe for short microgravity investigations by ESA, the French space agency CNES, the German Space Agency DLR and by industrial customers. The Airbus A300 is the largest airplane in the world used for this type of experimental research flight. This paper presents the short duration microgravity research programme of ESA. The experiments conducted during these campaigns are summarized, and the different airplanes used by ESA are shortly presented. The technical capabilities of the presently used aircraft by ESA, the Airbus A300 'Zero-G', are addressed. Some of the Physical Science and Technology experiments performed during the last ESA campaigns are presented to show the interest of this unique microgravity research tool to complement, support or prepare microgravity investigations during space flights.