P#25 Q3: Photographing Astronauts in a Zero G Plane

Mind and Matter

Joe McNally: This is going to sound really off-the-cuff and mildly dumb, but for me one of the great things about photography and having this career is about the opportunity to simply do cool stuff, take a look at the world in a different way, and get involved in the world in a way that few people can -- just by virtue of holding a camera in my hands. That's an amazing gift that this field gives you.

You walk in someplace with a camera in your hand, the people there are going to allow you to do things that they would never consider letting "a civilian" do, or someone who's just walking in the door who doesn't have a mission to convey information.

I did spend time on what's called the zero g plane. The nickname of that plane is called the vomit comet. You have to withstand a fair amount of physical stress during the course of covering something like that.

There's also a certain level of emotional stress that gets involved in a shoot like that. The kind of dogged determination you have to put on the table to get something like this done is incredible.

I photographed the zero g plane over in Russia in Star City. Star City never used to be on any of the maps because it was a secret cosmonaut training base. Now of course, the United States and Russia collaborate in space and they train together.

I got myself on that plane, Audri, by giving a $7,500 cash bribe to my Russian fixer who was my contact at Star City. He turned to the pilot. We were in an ice storm on a runway, a very bleak day in Russia. He gave the signal to the pilots to start the engine. They rolled the props, broke the zero g plane out of the ice, and busted it down the runway.

The American astronauts on board were freaked out. At the end of it, they looked at me and said, "Joe, we would have scrubbed this mission back home." The Russian pilot flew the entire mission, which is a parabola mission, meaning you're diving towards the earth and then you're pulling up in a steep ascent, and then diving again.

They flew the whole thing on instruments, never once saw the ground so you're up there, people are weightless, people are standing on the ceilings, there are no windows for reference, and you're looking through a camera lens so your interior gyros just go completely haywire.

I was lucky that I got a photograph that became a two-page spread in LIFE Magazine. It conveyed some of the experience, but I was very lucky to have done that because again, the physical stress of floating weightless was a challenge to overcome. (click the image to see larger version)

It's Not a Thrill Ride

One of the American astronauts, Mike Lopez-Alegria was holding onto my ankles. He's bungee corded to the floor. I'm literally throwing up into my eyepiece of my camera, which is probably too much information for your readership.

Audri Lanford: It makes them understand what you're going through.

Joe McNally: You just have to push yourself because you realize that this opportunity is not going to come around again. That's also part of the mission -- to realize that these very special things that you're working very hard to create are really one-shot deals.

It's not like you can go back. The zero g plane isn't going to go back just do it again for you, so you really do have to take advantage of these situations. Like covering sports -- the horse doesn't go around the track for you again to get the picture.

In Summary

So how exactly do you withstand the obstacle of weightless conditions, mental stress and a stomach that just won't cooperate with your shoot? If you're Joe McNally, you just plow through it. You have to push yourself if you want great aviation photography shots, especially if those shots are on a flight as grueling as that of a zero g plane.