TR - Richard Garriott Blogs About the Hawking Flight : FPS / MMORPG / RTS Discussion

04 / 27 / 2007

http://www.playtr.com/news/archives/2007/04/richard_garriot_6.html

As many of you are aware, Richard Garriott accompanied Professor Stephen Hawking on his amazing zero-gravity flight, and he describes what it was like with this new blog entry


My girlfriend Kelly and I have just returned from an incredible couple of days at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with Professor Stephen Hawking, which included participating in his historic zero-gravity flight where we all experienced the freedom of weightlessness aboard a specially equipped 727 flying parabolic trajectories. While I have been a fan of Dr. Hawking for some time, I became more and more impressed with him (and his staff) the more time we spent with them.

Professor Hawking has had a lifelong desire to travel into space, and zero-g flights are now among the first steps in that journey. Also organized as a benefit for several charitable organizations, the Hawking flight raised over $144,000 for these charities.

For Wednesday, April 25, we prepared to do a full dress rehearsal of how the flight operations would unfold. From the outset it was very clear that the ZERO-G team and Hawking’s personal team planned this expedition well. As we rehearsed all of the activities that we would repeat the next day, it was quickly evident that this would work well and be very exciting and comfortable for Professor Hawking. Kelly and I are both experienced parabolic flyers, but this was our first trip aboard G-Force 1, one of the planes owned by ZERO-G—a company I was one of the earliest investors in about a dozen years ago.

Professor Hawking had a very busy Wednesday himself, first helping kick off the event by meeting with the group who would be flying with him Thursday. While we were flying rehearsal flights he was answering interview questions from the large group of media who had come to witness the event, and after our test flights we had a reception in his honor where he gave a great lecture on his journey through science and his passion for space travel. Personally, I was excited to see him discussing work that is now well beyond black holes, including very recent thinking on theories about the origins of the universe.

Professor Hawking’s assistants and medical team demonstrated their amazing skill and respect for Professor Hawking, by being both attentive when required (such as navigating his wheelchair around inside a busy dining hall), yet they also knew how to let Professor Hawking lead his own affairs whenever possible. Over the next two days we would additionally learn what caring and engaging people they were, not only with Professor Hawking, but with all those around them. Kelly and I talked about what a great team they were on numerous occasions.

On Thursday, April 26, the weather was great and we were all excited to go on the day’s journey. The event ran even smoother than the rehearsals, and the pilots flew the best parabolas I have experienced in my few trips. The Professor was grinning widely throughout the whole experience. He not only floated weightless but completed several spins while floating free inside the cabin. Professor Hawking did all this while free of his wheelchair for the first time in over forty years!

Professor Hawking himself is also an incredibly engaging and responsive individual. His enthusiasm and enjoyment of the event was always evident. His ability to handle the crush of activity and interest was impressive. He met innumerable people, prepared and gave a variety of presentations, and answered numerous press questions. Between each event, he would be extremely busy preparing his notes for the next presentation in order to present his feelings before and after each phase properly. Extraordinary!

It was also fun to see the interpersonal exchanges between him, his team and the ZERO-G team. Professor Hawking had clear ideas as to what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it. While the goal of the mission was to do just one weightless parabola (with three to six being a great success), by the time we finished the sixth we planned to stop, but he insisted we do another two. Finishing eight parabolas, he had a cumulative amount of weightless time in excess of what one would normally experience on a sub-orbital flight.

When we returned to the Space Shuttle Landing Strip, met by throngs of press, Professor Hawking had this to say:

“It was amazing. The zero-g part was wonderful, I could have gone on and on – space here I come!”

Hawking added, “I recommend the experience to everyone and I hope that many will follow me and experience weightlessness.”

I know that Professor Hawking really does intend to fly to space, and plans are already in the works to get him there. Kelly and I were extremely fortunate to be a part of it. You can read more about the company and this flight here: www.gozerog.com. Or, better yet… go yourself!

http://www.gozerog.com/