FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Boulder, CO resident, Ben "Scratch" Daniels traveled cross -country to take a trip to weightlessness in zero gravity via a Boeing 727-200 to experience how astronauts float, fly and soar in space.
Daniels, an avid skydiver from Boulder, said he always dreamed of going to space.
Taking a step closer to his dream of space flight, Daniels is among the first passengers to enjoy The ZERO-G Experienc, the only FAA-approved service offering weightless flight to the general public. The ZERO-G weightless flight experience is similar to the astronaut training used by NASA for more than 40 years, and is how Tom Hanks floated in the film Apollo 13. 
 Since the company's launch, close to 1,100 people have experienced no-gravity weightless flight with ZERO-G. 
Prior to the flight, which was held in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, April 9, Daniels and 26 other "flyers" underwent a comprehensive training and briefing program led by veteran astronaut Dr. Sam Durrance. The group was then escorted to a private airport facility adjoining Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where they boarded a Boeing 727-200 specially-modified to perform parabolic maneuvers to create weightlessness. The parabolic flight patterns, which create three different levels of weightlessness - 1/6 gravity (Lunar), 1/3 gravity (Mars), and zero gravity, are up-and-down arc maneuvers performed at between 24,000 to 32,000 feet altitude.
"I have always been fascinated with space," said Daniels.  "Similar to the 'hang time' you get with sky-diving, the main reason for me to take part in The ZERO-G Experience is that I love the adrenaline rush of floating as we do in zero-gravity."
After the training and flight, Daniels and his fellow flyers were officially "weightless certified."  They also received a mission logbook, digital video, duffel bag, t-shirts, a framed photograph, and a flight suit with mission patch, to remember the experience.
 "We are delighted to bring the marvels of weightless flight to anyone who has longed to travel to space or is simply looking to expand their experiences and seek new challenges," said Peter H. Diamandis, MD, the co-founder and CEO of Zero Gravity Corporation. "ZERO-G's mission is to make the exhilaration and adventure of space and weightless flight safe, fun and affordable for the general public."
 The cost of the flights, which can be booked through select travel agents or Zero Gravity's Web site (www.nogravity.com), is $3,750 per person, plus applicable taxes.