Los Angeles, CA Zero Gravity Corporation, a new and innovative U.S. space entertainment and tourism company (www.zerogcorp.com), has tapped longtime Washington DC operative Alan Ladwig to be Chief Executive Officer and VP for Government Operations. Ladwig will implement the company’s business plan and represent ZERO-G® with NASA, the Administration, foreign governments, U.S. Congress, state governments and associations. He will be based in Washington, DC.
ZERO-G, with headquarters in Los Angeles, Calif., is the first private company approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration to offer commercial parabolic flight in the United States. For years, NASA has safely employed its parabolic KC-135 aircraft to train astronauts and prepare experiments for spaceflight. Beginning in March 2003, ZERO-G will use a specially modified Boeing 727 aircraft to make the excitement and unique environment of weightlessness accessible to the public in a safe and affordable fashion. Parabolic flight is the only way to create sustained weightlessness without going into space. But this experience has never before been available to the public in the United States. ZERO-G will market the weightless environment to the scientific, corporate, education, film and music industries.
Specially-trained ZERO-G pilots will fly the parabolic flight maneuvers between 24,000 and 32,000 feet. The maneuver is somewhat like a roller coaster in that the plane is initially pulled up to approximately 45 degrees ‘nose high,’ and then ‘pushed over’ to begin the zero-gravity segment of the parabolas. For the next 25-30 seconds, everything in the plane is weightless.
“Alan Ladwig is well respected throughout Washington for his knowledge of the space industry and his management abilities,” said ZERO-G CEO Dr. Peter Diamandis. “He will lead ZERO-G in supporting the space community’s efforts to privatize and commercialize space tourism.” Ladwig also maintains one of the world’s greatest collections of space toys and memorabilia.
Alan Ladwig served at NASA Headquarters from 1994-1999 as the Associate Administrator of Policy and Plans where he was responsible for the NASA Strategic Management System, the History Division, and operations of the NASA Advisory Council. He served as program manager for NASA’s Space Flight Participant Program (including the Teacher in Space and Journalist in Space programs), Mid-deck Experiments Program, Non-Scientific Payload Program, Corporate Payload Specialist Program, and Shuttle Student Involvement Program. He also established and served as Director of Special Projects for the Office of Exploration. Most recently, Ladwig served as VP for Washington Operations and Assistant to Chairman Lou Dobbs of SPACE.com. Prior to 1994, Ladwig served as an analyst at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
Ladwig earned a BS in speech, and a master’s in higher education from Southern Illinois University and an AS Business degree from Elgin Community College. He served in the 558th USA Artillery Group, Athens, Greece from 1972-74. He is the recipient of NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, and three NASA Group Achievement Awards.
For additional information about ZERO-G, visit: http/:www.zerogcorp.com
