vomit comet

British  

noun

1. informal an aircraft that dives suddenly in altitude, simulating freefall, in order to allow astronauts to experience the nausea that can affect people in a gravity-free environment

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Example Sentences

Also, Gates goes for a ride in zero-G on the vomit comet.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2020

Physicist Stephen Hawking, shown here aboard NASA's "vomit comet" aircraft in 2007, has won a $3 million prize.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 11, 2012

During a spin in a simulator known as the "vomit comet," which is designed to induce motion sickness, Garn kept his food down.

From Time Magazine Archive

Here's a woman who had survived the centrifuge, the vomit comet, hard-landing drills and 10k runs.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Just when he thought a vomit comet was about to fly...he stopped moving.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles