On This Day In Space: July 27, 1962: First zero-G cosmonaut training on Soviet jetliner (Image Credit: Space.com)
On July 27, 1962, two Russian cosmonauts boarded a Soviet airliner and experienced weightlessness without going to space. This was the first time cosmonauts completed zero-G training on an airplane.
Related: Fun in Zero-G: Weightless Photos from Earth and Space
The Tupolev Tu-104 was a type of jetliner originally designed to transport 50 passengers. It was modified to accommodate cosmonauts who needed to train in an environment that simulated weightlessness. By flying in a parabolic arc, passengers could experience 6 to 25 seconds of weightlessness on each maneuver.
Cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Pavel Popovich were on this flight to prepare for their upcoming orbital missions Vostok 3 and Vostok 4.
NASA’s own version of the early weightless flights flew on the famed “Vomit Comet.”
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