Zero gravity roller coaster will give you eight seconds of weightlessness

Right now, the only way to experience the sensation of complete weightlessness is by becoming an astronaut or booking a trip on a reduced-gravity plane like the “Vomit Comet.“ But that may be about to change. Design team BRC Imagination Arts has proposed a roller coaster that would travel up a steep track at speeds of 100 miles an hour before beginning a controlled drop that would essentially put its passengers into zero gravity for eight seconds. Unlike normal roller coasters, the ride would be completely enclosed, giving loosely-buckled passengers the feeling of floating in a room rather than speeding through space. While weightless, they’d be encouraged to play with small props like a ball or a cup of water.

Because of the complexity of the design, the coaster could cost more than $50 million, almost twice the price of most roller coasters. It would also need to come equipped with a drainage system to remove any food that passengers aren’t able to keep down during their ride and attendants with hoses ready to clean up when it stops. If it gets funding, the project would take around two years to complete. But considering the $3,000 you’d spend on a zero-gravity flight, this coaster might be the only hope for most of us to pretend we’re in space.