QUESTION: Is gravity the same on KAO as on earth? Have you ever been in a non-gravity situation? Did you like it? ANSWER from Jesse Bregman on May 23: Gravity on the KAO is the same as on the earth, just like in any airplane. I have never been in a non-gravity situation, although I have been in elevators which go down so fast that you feel a reduced gravity. Since I get airsick, I don't think I would appreciate a non-gravity environment. ANSWER from Marc Siegel on May 23: Although I have never flown on the Kuiper, I have flown in a non-gravity situation. It occured about 7 years ago and here are the details that I remember. A researcher at NASA Ames was doing experiments in how the human body adjusts to weightlessness. In this experiment, the subject (me!) put my face against a pair of stationary goggles. These goggles had a crosshair painted on them. While flying, I pointed at where I thought the crosshair was and the direction of my pointing was measured. The idea was to determine whether going from regular gravity to no-gravity changed the direction in which I pointed. This experiment was done in a Lear jet which took off from NASA Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, California). On board was the pilot, co-pilot, researcher and myself. The Lear jet was very small; the inside cabin seemed to have a diameter of about 6 feet. Since I am 6'3", I had to bend over just to get to my seat. Within a few minutes of takeoff, we were over the Pacific ocean. In order to feel weightless, the pilot causes the plane to dive in a parabolic curve. The plane falls at the same rate as gravity would pull an object. Therefore, everything in the plan seems to be floating relative to one another. We did four sets of five parabolas. As I recall, each dive lasted about 15-20 seconds. We lost a great deal of altitude during each dive. So then we would climb steeply to return to a safe altitude for the next dive. After five straight dives, we would fly at level altitude for 5 or 10 minutes to let everyone regain their normal senses. During these dives, I was totally strapped in and busy pointing like mad at where I thought the crosshairs were. I couldn't see anything in the cabin (because of the special goggles). My stomach felt wierd as we first began the dive but after that things felt virtually normal. The real fun began when we had finished the experiment and the researcher had collected enough data. The pilot turned to me and asked if I wanted to try one dive while I wasn't strapped in. "Oh boy", did I ever want to. Although the cabin was small, I floated to the ceiling and all around. I had brought a Nerf ball and it floated and moved right along with me. The experience was great! I felt like a real astronaut for those 20 seconds. We then flew back to Ames where I got to watch the pilots land the plane through the front cockpit windows (since I love planes that was fun too!). On the way back to my desk, I had the biggest smile on my face. I know because a friend saw me and later commented on how happy I looked. Apparently I was grinning from ear-to-ear and batting around the Nerf ball like a silly 5-year old. I was totally lost in my own pleasurable thoughts. When I think about that experience, I realize how lucky I am to work for NASA. Even though I am not an astronaut, I get to have some special space experiences anyway.