Hawking Flight Follow-Up

According to CNN.com, Stephen Hawking's zero gravity flight was a success. In interviews with reporters, he described the experience as "amazing" and "wonderful." You can also view a video of the experience at the CNN website.

Peter Diamandis, chairman & CEO of Zero Gravity (the space tourism company that provided the trip), said that they would have considered a single weightless trial as a success ... instead they completed a total of 8 such trips.

The "zero gravity" is obtained by using a retrofitted jet that flies in large, fast parabolas. At the top of the parabola, the passengers experience effectively weightless behavior since the ground is falling down fast enough that their free-fall makes them essentially hover in the air.