Back when it was released in 2016, we shared OK Go's video for "Upside Down & Inside Out," which was filmed in zero gravity.
It made quite a splash at the time because it is an incredible video. WIRED described the video as showing the band "floating while ripping apart piñatas, exploding paint-filled balloons and generally wreaking havoc." WIRED also explains some of the physics and training involved:
Parabolic flight is a way to induce weightlessness without leaving Earth; as the plane flies in waves, ascending at an angle of 45 degrees up to 32,000 feet then nosediving thousands of feet, the passengers inside are able to experience brief moments in zero G. Each descent gave the band 27 seconds of weightlessness that were repeated over eight waves in each flight. This is the same flight technique used on NASA's "vomit comet" to train astronauts.
OK Go also experienced hypergravity — close to 1.8 times that felt on earth — as the plane accelerated to the top of the parabolic curve. You can see the effect of hypergravity at 3:07 in the video, as the floating balls hit the floor with a sharp bump. In each descent the band experienced microgravity equal to one-millionth of the gravity felt on Earth.
OK Go trained with the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos for three weeks before the final take of the video. Over that period they took 21 parabolic flights, totting up two hours and 15 minutes of weightlessness in total.
Yesterday, the band posted an updated video on their social media, this time with explanations of what's going on sprinkled throughout, "Pop-Up Video"-style. On their Facebook page, they explain:
Damian passed out, Andy had a panic attack, and it would take the fingers and toes of 3 of the 4 band members to count how many instances of vomit occurred. Nevertheless, we persisted. Upside Down Inside Out's zero gravity music video was one of our most daring to date, so we sprinkled some fun facts throughout it to let you in on some secrets. P.S. anyone notice Tim's beard magazine the first time around?
Go watch it, it's even better seven years later!
