Lorraine Kelly marks her 60th birthday with ASTRONAUT TRAINING at NASA in Florida

Lorraine Kelly marks her 60th birthday with ASTRONAUT TRAINING at NASA in Florida as she experiences zero gravity in ‘The Vomit Comet’… (and even pours a cup of tea while floating!)

  • The TV legend marks the milestone birthday on 30 November
  • She revealed she had always been ‘obsessed’ with space after her father bought her a telescope and she watched the moon landing aged 10
  • In light of her passion, Lorraine delightedly revealed she jetted to the US to try the ‘ominously named’ Vomit Comet, where she experienced zero gravity
  • She was accompanied by her husband Steve Smith 
  • NASA’s KC-135A aircraft – nicknamed the ‘Vomit Comet’ – mimics microgravity to train astronauts and test space equipment 
  • The aircraft, which resembles a large jet, flies in an arc shape, allowing passengers to experience 25 seconds of microgravity at the top 

Lorraine Kelly rang in her 60th birthday in unique style last month as she jetted to Florida to try her hand at astronaut training.

The TV legend, who marks the milestone birthday on 30 November, revealed she had always been ‘obsessed’ with space after her father bought her a telescope and she watched the moon landing aged 10. 

In light of her passion, Lorraine delightedly revealed she jetted to the US to try her hand in the ‘ominously named’ Vomit Comet, where she experienced zero gravity and was seen to pour a cup of tea while floating in the air. 

Cuppa? Lorraine Kelly rang in her 60th birthday in unique style last month as she jetted to Florida to try her hand at astronaut training

Lorraine revealed on her eponymous show on Thursday that she had embarked on the incredible adventure while also penning a piece for The Sun about her travels. 

Speaking about how she found her passion for space, she said: ‘I watched the moon landings as a 10 year old and it was absolutely life changing…

‘Here we are 50 years on and I’m going to get to experience a small part of what people like Neil Armstrong experienced. At the age of 60, I’m going back to school, but this is astronaut school.’

At the Kennedy Space Center she met JO Creighton who spent 16 days in space and worked closely with NASA on four space shuttle missions as lead CAPCOM.

Happy days: The TV legend, who marks the milestone birthday on 30 November, revealed she had always been 'obsessed' with space after her father bought her a telescope and she watched the moon landing aged 10

Happy days: The TV legend, who marks the milestone birthday on 30 November, revealed she had always been ‘obsessed’ with space after her father bought her a telescope and she watched the moon landing aged 10

Lorraine also travelled to San Francisco for a special zero gravity flight accompanied by her husband Steve Smith.

The Zero G flight, nicknamed the Vomit Comet, is the closest experience you can get to space here on earth. 

The pilot flies level to the horizon at an altitude of 24,000 feet and then begins to pull up, gradually increasing the angle of the aircraft to about 50° to the horizon reaching an altitude of 32,000 feet. 

During this pull-up, passengers will feel the pull of around 2Gs. The Boeing 727, which took off from San Jose International Airport, repeated the maneuver around 15-20 times and each weightless burst lasts around 20-45 seconds.

Amazing! Lorraine revealed on her eponymous show on Thursday that she had embarked on the incredible adventure while also penning a piece for The Sun about her travel

Amazing! Lorraine revealed on her eponymous show on Thursday that she had embarked on the incredible adventure while also penning a piece for The Sun about her travel

In incredible clips from her experience in the simulator, Lorraine appeared totally awestruck as she floated around in the zero gravity space.    

In her column for The Sun, she detailed: ‘From Nasa we travelled to San Francisco, and the zero gravity experience…

‘I didn’t sleep a wink the night before and was up and ready hours in advance to be taken on board the specially converted plane G-Force One — rather ominously dubbed The Vomit Comet. 

‘Weightlessness is achieved by flying the plane — like an airliner but with no seats — through a series of parabolic arcs.’

Incredible: In incredible clips from her experience in the simulator, Lorraine appeared totally awestruck as she floated around in the zero gravity space

Incredible: In incredible clips from her experience in the simulator, Lorraine appeared totally awestruck as she floated around in the zero gravity space

She was then seen in San Francisco, where she poured a cup of tea in the air. 

Lorraine revealed she was given advice by British astronaut Tim Peake on what to expect during her space mission.

Clearly delighted by the experience, Lorraine said: ‘I was like a toddler, I was so excited… It was amazing… very difficult to describe. It’s like being squashed and then you’re free, total freedom.’ 

HOW DOES A ZERO GRAVITY PLANE CREATE WEIGHTLESSNESS?

Zero gravity planes create a weightless experience by flying in parabolic manoeuvres

Zero gravity planes create a weightless experience by flying in parabolic manoeuvres

Zero gravity planes, dubbed ‘vomit comets,’ create a weightless experience by flying in parabolic manoeuvres.

Zero Gravity Corporation uses a modified Boeing 727, G-Force One, controlled by specially trained pilots.

First, the fly level to the horizon at an altitude of 24,000 feet, according to the company.

Then, the pilot pulls up, gradually increasing the angle to about 45° to the horizon.

At this point, the plane reaches an altitude of 32,000 feet.

When the plane is then ‘pushed over,’ riders will enter the zero gravity segment of the parabola, and everything on board will be weightless for 20-30 seconds.

Riders are given a chance to stabilize on the floor during a ‘gentle pull-out,’ and then the manoeuvre is repeated 15 times.

 

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