WASHINGTON — In a major move to revive domestic access to weightless testing, aerospace startup Mu-g Technologies has officially taken delivery of a Dassault Falcon 50 business jet. The company plans to transform the aircraft into a specialized commercial parabolic flight platform, filling an operational void left open since the region’s sole provider went quiet.
Parabolic flights; plunge aircraft through steep, roller-coaster-like arcs giving scientists, defense teams, and suborbital tourists 20 to 25 seconds of weightlessness at a time.
For years, Florida-based Zero-G Corp. dominated this commercial space using a modified Boeing 727. However, with that airliner grounded since late last year and no official resumption date on the horizon, North American researchers have faced a critical capability gap.
“We saw when Zero-G stopped flying last year that capability gap got blown wide open…We realized that there are payloads that need to fly, experiments that need to be done.”
– Robert Ward, Mu-g Technologies Founder and Chief Executive
The Falcon 50: A Scaled Approach to Microgravity
While traditional parabolic flights favor massive, converted passenger airliners, Mu-g Technologies is intentionally taking a nimbler approach. Ward, a sector veteran who got his start as a NASA test subject in 1995 before working at Zero-G, noted the Falcon 50 is an optimized starting platform.
Traditional Airliner Flight | Massive cabin, dozens of payloads at once
Mu-g Falcon 50 Approach | Highly targeted, 1 to 2 research payloads per flight
The corporate jet is currently undergoing routine scheduled maintenance and interior modifications to safely secure sensitive scientific hardware. Assisted by an advanced digital flight control system, the aircraft will be programmed to precisely trace the required parabolic trajectory to achieve high-quality microgravity.
Ward projects that commercial operations could begin within six months, though the exact timeline hinges on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification. While Mu-g has been entirely self-funded up to this point, the company is actively approaching strategic investors, with eyes on eventually scaling up to an Airbus A321 airliner.
Dual Tracks: Private Innovation vs. NASA’s Internal Fleet
Mu-g’s entry into the market comes as the private sector rushes to meet commercial demand; including projects funded by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program while NASA itself is working to acquire its own dedicated plane.
On June 1, NASA awarded an $8.4 million contract to Denmar Technical Services to maintain and modify an agency-owned Boeing 737-700. NASA intends to use this proprietary asset for a very specific mandate: validating the next-generation lunar spacesuits and crew hardware essential for the upcoming Artemis Moon missions.
| Feature | Mu-g Technologies Platform | NASA In-House Platform |
| Aircraft Type | Dassault Falcon 50 | Boeing 737-700 |
| Primary Mission | Multi-user commercial research & payloads | Artemis lunar spacesuit & crew systems validation |
| Availability | Open to commercial, academic, & government buyers | Internal NASA operations |
Mu-g Technologies doesn’t see NASA getting its own plane as competition; instead it a vital infrastructure redundancy.
“The work that they’re going to be doing on that aircraft is going to be work that NASA needs to get done…Having multiple aircraft available provides backup if a plane is out of service. If they’re flying parabolas, and we’re flying parabolas, we’re all winning.”
– Robert Ward, Mu-g Technologies Founder and Chief Executive