The Beer Has Landed: Astronauts4Hire Completes Space Beer Microgravity Test

Online, February 28, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Astronauts4Hire has completed its inaugural paid contract to test the world's first beer designed for consumption in space. The experiment, which marks humanity's first formal study on alcohol absorption in microgravity, took place aboard a parabolic trajectory microgravity flight out of Cape Canaveral, Florida operated by Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G). Yesterday's flight was the first in a series of microgravity flights qualifying the beer recipe for consumption in space, funded in part by sales of the beverage on Earth.

The Vostok Space Beer, produced as a joint venture between Saber Astronautics Australia and the 4-Pines Brewing Company to serve the emerging space tourism market, is a high-flavor, low-carbonation stout designed for easy drinking both in microgravity and on Earth. Astronauts4Hire was contracted by the Vostok partners to provide the flight testing service.

Astronauts4Hire Flight Member Todd Romberger was selected to perform the flight research. Todd sampled the beer during 12 microgravity parabolas, each reproducing the weightless conditions of space for 30 seconds at a time, and recorded qualitative data on beverage taste and drinkability as well as biometric data to gain a first look at alcohol effects the body.

"It was exciting to participate in this ground breaking research," said Todd. "I'm happy to say the flight was a success. We provided the customer with the data they needed, and made a little history along the way. Not to mention, the beer was delicious!"

Saber Astronautics Australia Director Dr. Jason Held praised Astronauts4Hire (A4H), saying "this was a challenging experiment which physically stressed the body to test effects specific to drinking beer in microgravity. It also had many small and repetitive tasks required to get the biometric data, requiring a high degree of hand-eye coordination and concentration to meet strict reporting requirements. A4H and Todd in particular performed superbly."

Astronauts4Hire is honored to take a prime role in this research, helping to forge the path towards a robust commercial spaceflight industry.

About Astronauts4Hire:
Astronauts for Hire, Inc. is a non-profit corporation poised to blaze new trails in the commercial spaceflight industry. Its members are available for hire by researchers to conduct experiments on suborbital flights. As the gateway to commercial human spaceflight, Astronauts4Hire serves as the matchmaker among the suborbital research community, training providers, and spaceflight operators. For more information, please visit www.Astronauts4Hire.org or contact Public Relations Officer Ben Corbin at ben.corbin[at]astronauts4hire.org or at (850) 685-2218.

About Saber Astronautics Australia:
Saber Astronautics Australia is a new space engineering company that researches logistics and operations solutions for the space industry. They are also actively involved in bringing their passion for space to the public community. For more information, please visit www.saberastro.com or contact Dr. Jason Held at jheld[at]saberastro.com or at +61 (04) 3317-8740.

About 4-Pines Brewing Company:
The 4-Pines Brewing Company is a microbrewery located in Manly, a beachside suburb of Sydney, Australia. They have made a name for themselves for their first-class handcrafted beer, which has won national and international awards for its purity and impressive flavour profiles. For more information, please visit www.4pinesbeer.com.au or contact Jaron Mitchell at jaron[at]4pinesbeer.com.au or at +61 405 637 644. More information about about Vostok Space Beer is available at www.vostokspacebeer.com.

About ZERO-G:
Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G) is a privately-held company whose mission is to make the excitement and adventure of weightlessness accessible to the public. ZERO-G is based in Vienna, Va. and is the first and only FAA-approved provider of weightless flights to the general public, as well as the entertainment and film industries, corporate and incentive market, non-profit research and education sectors, and government.

The company was co-founded in 1993 by X PRIZE Chairman, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis; veteran astronaut, Dr. Byron K. Lichtenberg, and NASA engineer Ray Cronise. The team spent more than a decade working to bring the marvel of weightless flight to the public.

Since launching the ZERO-G Experience in September 2004, the company has conducted more than 250 weightless flights and flown over 6,000 members of the public, including celebrities and media personalities, corporate charters, science and math teachers, and individuals aged eight to 93.

ZERO-G operates under the highest safety standards as set by the FAA (Part-121) with its partner Amerijet International Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Aircraft operations take place under the same regulations set for large commercial passenger airliners.

For more information, please visit www.GoZeroG.com.