Thinking about gravity.
It's all about perspective.
I expect a ball to fall when I drop it. The glass of water I pour out to splash on the floor. The camera I'm holding to crash on the ground if I loosen my grip.
And until Friday - I was right.
Last Friday I found myself traveling to LaGuardia Airport for a two and a half hour flight.
This is nothing new - I'm on planes a lot. But this flight took off from LaGuardia and returned to the same airport. That's unusual.
I'd been invited along with a small group of friends to climb aboard ZeroG, the anti-gravity plane that is just making it's commercial debut. I'd had second thoughts the night before. Was it frivolous? Was it dangerous? Was it simply too far out of my day to day experience? What if I found it exhilarating? Would I be 'addicted'? Would I reject gravity and it's relentless downward force? Finally - after a night of dreams about 2001: A Space Odyssey and various
amusement park rides of my youth - I realized that I simply had no choice. Gravity - as relentless as it was - was something I needed to try and see if I could do without.
And so - Laguardia at 8am.
A friend and business partner had orchestrated the gathering (it was actually a weightless birthday party!). There was an immediate camaraderie among the group. Heck, lots of us didn't know each other - but we all had this friend in common. He wasn't likely to invite us on something that wasn't fun - at least that was the assumption we all were working under as we gathered in the Marriot for our pre-flight briefing.
The folks at ZeroG were warm, comforting, and fun. There were flight suits that made us feel like astronauts. There was a an explanation of the science of Zero Gravity Flight.
And there was a history lesson. This isn't new, NASA has been doing it since the 40's. So why is it being commercialized just now? Hmmmm...
Ok, I confess - I was nervous.
And that had me thinking a bit, because logic said this wasn't actually dangerous.
But the idea that I was going to feel something I'd never felt before, and that it was going to put me in a very small group of others who've experienced ZeroG made me both excited and uneasy. In fact, just 4,000 non-astronauts have experienced ZeroG. I would be 4001 (or there abouts).
But soon enough we were airborne and there was a lot more to learn in ZeroG than I expected.
Here are my ZeroG thoughts - as they found their way to my consciousness.
First, there are things we take for granted. Things we expect will always 'be'. That's why it's easy to be intellectually concerned about the environment - while at the same time filling up your car,
running the air conditioning, and drinking bottled water that is shipped in from France. Gravity has 'always' been here. But like icebergs, summer and sun-tans nothing is forever. Gravity
deserves respect.
Second, science is fun. It's physical. It can be touched. Drinking water that is floating in air, or trying to catch an M&M that is suspended in the air is cool. I bet any kid that you let do this would want to be an astronaut. I want to wear my flight suit out to dinner. Really.
Third, boy - we're expending a ton of energy worrying about global warming, but I don't know if I think that we're really committed to dealing with it. Science is powerful. Why isn't there a "Manhattan Project" for the environment? What has happened to the space program since we put a man on the moon? Why aren't we using all the power of computers to really explore? Ok, maybe I've been weightless for too long.
Anyway. The key points are, forget the "Vomit Comet". This was awesome. No one lost their lunch. Everyone gained a new perspective. And I am quite sure that each and every one of us would do it again - tomorrow.
I wish I could retake High School physics. It's truly wonderful to have something that you take for granted lifted off your shoulders. Gravity. It's really pretty intense. I could do without it a bit
more often.