Stephen Hawking experienced zero gravity in 2007. On 26 April 2007, he flew aboard a specially modified Boeing 727-200 operated by Zero Gravity Corporation off the coast of Florida. The aircraft performed parabolic manoeuvres, creating brief periods of weightlessness inside the cabin.
The flight was arranged after Hawking said that travelling into space was one of his great unfulfilled ambitions. Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson offered him a free future spaceflight, but Hawking first needed to test how his body would respond to the physical forces involved. The zero-gravity flight provided that opportunity without requiring an orbital launch.
Hawking completed eight parabolic arcs, despite concerns that the manoeuvres might cause him discomfort. The flight was successful and attracted worldwide attention because he was living with motor neurone disease and used a wheelchair. A common mix-up is to call this a spaceflight: Hawking reached weightlessness, but the aircraft remained within Earth’s atmosphere. He never travelled into orbit before his death in 2018.