AstroAccess Ambassadors Advance Disability Access Aboard Two Zero-Gravity Missions

Two people, a man and a woman both smiling, stand in front of a large, white aircraft with the prominent blue text "Zero G" on its fuselage. On the right, individuals float inside the aircraft's cabin, experiencing weightlessness. One man with a cheerful expression and glasses floats towards the camera with his hands raised.

From left to right: AstroAccess Ambassadors Larry Guterman, Brenda Williamson, and Kyle Horn. Image Credit: Blaga Ditrow / Zero Gravity Corporation / Aurelia (left) / MIT Space Exploration Initiative (right).

PORTSMOUTH, NC, May 24, 2024 – AstroAccess is proud to announce that its Ambassadors have completed two zero-gravity research missions. The first flight occurred on May 14 through the Zero Gravity Corporation (Zero-G) and featured AstroAccess Ambassador Kyle Horn, a Ph.D. candidate in MIT AeroAstro’s Human Systems Lab. Horn flew as a student in the MIT Space Exploration Initiative’s research flight.

Horn conducted an experiment demonstrating the safety and efficacy of insulin delivery devices in micro and hyper-gravity, leveraging more than 20 years of experience living with type 1 diabetes.

On May 17, AstroAccess Ambassadors Larry Guterman, acclaimed film director and SonicCloud co-founder, and Brenda Williamson, aerospace engineer, embarked on a Zero-G mission with the Aurelia Institute, a nonprofit space architecture R&D lab and outreach organization, as part of its Horizon program.

Larry Guterman, co-founder of SonicCloud, has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard and a master of arts in film from USC, and directed the hit films “Cats & Dogs” for Warner Bros, and “Antz” (as Director of Sequences) for DreamWorks. He suffered acoustic trauma at 19 and brings his personal experience and expertise to bear on an experiment aiming to personalize sound for hard-of-hearing individuals in zero-gravity environments. Leveraging innovative technology built by SonicCloud’s engineering team, the experiment seeks to enable those with severe hearing loss to comprehend live ambient speech amidst extreme background noise in a disorienting environment in order to simulate the challenges and solutions hard-of-hearing people may encounter communicating in space.

Brenda Williamson has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of California, San Diego. She is passionate about democratizing outer space exploration. Her experiment focused on enhancing the accessibility of parabolic flights through a light signaling system, providing visual cues for gravity changes, particularly benefiting D/deaf and hard-of-hearing astronauts.

This work is designed to not only advance space access for historically marginalized audiences, but to provide safer, more effective design solutions for all people.

About AstroAccess
AstroAccess is dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in space exploration for the benefit of humankind. AstroAccess believes that if we can make space accessible, we can make any space accessible. The project is supported through the Whitesides Foundation and is part of SciAccess, an international nonprofit dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in STEM. Learn more at astroaccess.org.

About Aurelia Institute
Aurelia Institute’s continuing mission is to prepare humanity to become a spacefaring species. Their aim is to develop the space architecture technologies, communities, and policies that will help them scale humanity’s horizons from early space stations in LEO to the fullness of an interplanetary civilization. Aurelia Institute is working toward establishing a new culture of space that is not just for astronauts and the privileged few, but also for artists and lawyers, healthcare professionals and teachers, essential workers, and tourists. You can learn more about Aurelia Institute by visiting aureliainstitute.org.

About Zero Gravity Corporation
Zero Gravity Corporation is a privately held space entertainment and tourism company whose mission is to make the excitement and adventure of space accessible to the public. The experience offered by Zero-G gives individuals the opportunity to experience true “weightlessness” without going to space. Zero-G’s attention to detail, excellent service and quality of experience combined with its exciting history has set the foundation for exhilarating adventure-based tourism. You can learn more by visiting the Zero-G website at gozerog.com.

For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact Zach Damon, AstroAccess Media Relations Manager at press@astroaccess.org.

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