The Airbus A310 Zero-G is an aircraft operated by Novespace (Bordeaux, France) since 2015 for scientific parabolic flights and to provide members of the public with a gravity-free experience. Find out more about the history and features of Europe’s zero-gravity aircraft.
The A310 Zero-G left the Airbus production line in 1989. Operated for two years by the now-defunct East German airline Interflug, it was bought by the German government.
It was refitted and used to transport Chancellor Angela Merkel and other members of the German federal government. It was renamed “Konrad Adenauer” in honour of the post-war German chancellor.
In 2014, Novespace acquired the aircraft to replace the Airbus A300 Zero-G. Equipped for parabolic flights, it was first used for scientific research in May 2015.
The Airbus Zero-G is now the world’s largest zero-gravity aircraft in terms of passenger capacity and experiment surface area, enabling scientists and the general public to access gravity-free conditions.
The aircraft was refurbished for parabolic flights from September 2014 to March 2015 by Lufthansa Technics in Hamburg. Most of the changes were made to the cabin.
A space to the front of the zero-gravity aircraft cabin was fitted with an experiment area with a ground surface of 100 m2 and a volume of 200 m3 (length: 20 m, width: 5 m, maximum height 2.25 m) for a wide range of microgravity experiments.
Stripped of seats and stowage compartments, this area is completely empty. The floor, sides and ceiling were padded with foam for greater passenger safety. Handrails and straps were also added to the area, which is equipped with front and rear security nets.
The Airbus Zero-G cabin has overhead LED lighting. The sides of the aircraft were fitted with 230 V electrical distribution panels and gas extraction equipment.
Passenger seats were retained to the rear of the cabin for use during take-off and landing. The aircraft structure, engines and systems were not modified. Special flight instruments were developed and fitted to the cockpit to allow pilots to make parabolic maneuvers. The aircraft maintenance program was adapted to reflect the specific characteristics of parabolic flights.
| Manufacturer | Airbus |
|---|---|
| Type | A310-304 |
| Serial number | 498 |
| Registration number | F-WNOV |
| Production date | June 1989 |
| Length | 46,6 meters |
| Wing span | 43,9 meters |
| Fuselage diameter | 5.64 meters |
| Engines | 2 engines General Electric CF6-80C2 |
| Number of seats | regular : 43 / maximum : 51 |
| Parabolic flight crew | pilots : 3 / cabin crew : 4 |
| Experiment surface area | 100 m2 (maximum height : 2.25m) |
|---|---|
| Power supply 220VAC | 23 kVA |
| Extraction ports | 4 gas extraction ports |
| Cabin lighting | 600 lux |
| Cabin temperature during flight | 17 – 20 °C / Real-time flight data recording |
| Number of onboard experiments | 12 – 15 |
| Total mass of experiments | 4.000 Kg |
| Number of scientists per flight | 40 |
| Altitude prior to parabola pull-up | 6,000 m (20.000 ft) |
|---|---|
| Speed prior to parabola pull-up | 830 km/h (448 kt) |
| Injection nose-up angle | 50° |
| Parabola injection altitude | 7,600 m (25,000 ft) |
| Parabola injection speed | 460 km/h (250 kt) |
| Altitude at top of parabola | 8,500 m (28,000 ft) |
| Speed at top of parabola | 240 km/h (130 kT) |
| Pull-out nose-down angle | 42° |
| Length of weightlessness (0 g) | 22 seconds |
| Weightlessness accuracy | ± 0.02 g |
| Duration of lunar gravity (0.16 g) | 25 s |
| Duration of martian gravity (0.38 g) | 35 s |
| Hypergravity (parabola pull-up/pull-out) | 1.8 g |
| Total duration of parabolic maneuver | 70 s |
| Cumulative duration of weightlessness | 11 minutes for 30 parabolas |