An Adventure in Absolute Weightlessness!

Who hasn’t watched the shuttle astronauts floating around inside the space station and felt the tug of curiosity and a little pang of jealousy… You know you’ve said it… Those five little words… “How cool would that be?”

Don’t be a bystander any longer! You can experience the un-Earthly feeling of weightlessness, the thrill of zero gravity, and the excitement of training the way the Cosmonauts do. The Ilyushin 76 MDK is the largest parabola aircraft in the world, and the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center has trained many of Russia’s top cosmonauts… and now this closely monitored and guarded exclusive training is available to select civilians!

Picture yourself here… 6,000 meters above the ground, above the clouds, the earth growing smaller. It seems like you’ve paused, midair, but you’re rising in a steep 45 degree angle. Then you feel it… two full G’s of force as the thrust is removed and suddenly you’re weightless! It’s your turn to soar! For the first time, you are able to experience what astronauts and cosmonauts alike have experienced, and you have to the answer to your question… “It is wayyyyyyyyy cool!”

Safe and sound you float weightlessly in the specially designed cargo bay of the Ilyushin, while the experienced instructors, from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City, share with you the secrets of weightlessness. Carefully constructed to prevent injury, you explore your weightless environment for approximately 25 seconds, then you feel it again…Gravity! You’re blasting off at a 45-degree angle again, readying yourself for another go at weightlessness.

During your flight, you’ll enjoy the experience of being completely weightless approximately 12 to 15 times, and each time is as exhilarating as the first! You can count yourself as one of the less than 1,000 humans who have had the privilege of this amazing defiance of earthly bounds.

Accompanying you on your journey is Andreas Bergweiler, a connoisseur of Russian space travel. Mr. Bergweiler has participated in many of the trainings for cosmonauts, including zero gravity flights, MiG 25 “Edge of Space” flights, Water Survival for Cosmonauts, centrifuge rides and so much more!! To read more about Mr. Bergweiler, take a look at his online Internet diary at www.space-odyssey.com Or, why not ask him about his experiences yourself, while floating weightlessly during your own zero gravity space experience!!