NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The information in this document was accurate as of the original publication date.

Audience: Educators
Grades: 8-12


To prepare for an upcoming mission, an astronaut participated in a C-9 flight simulating microgravity. The pilot flew out over the Gulf of Mexico, dove down to increase to a maximum speed, and then climbed up until the nose was at a 45-degree angle with the ground. To go into a parabolic maneuver, the pilot then cut the thrust of the engine, letting the nose of the plane continue to rise then come back down at a minus 45-degree angle with the ground. At the end of the maneuver, the pilot throttled the engine back up and began another dive to prepare for the next parabola. The pilot completed 50 parabolas during the two-hour flight. Students will use a quadratic function to analyze the parabolic flight path of the C-9 jet. This information will help students understand how reduced gravity can be experienced on Earth.

Weightless Wonder -- Reduced-Gravity Flight teacher edition [401KB PDF file]
Weightless Wonder -- Reduced-Gravity Flight student edition [237KB PDF file]


This problem is part of the Exploring Space Through Algebra series.
Other problems in this series include:
Next-Generation Spacecraft -- Orion
Space Shuttle Ascent
Extension Activity -- Weightless Wonder