Newton's laws of motion Newton in his "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" ("Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"), first published in 1687. Newton used them to explain and investigate the motion of many physical objects and systems. For example, in the third volume of the text, Newton showed that these laws of motion, combined with his law of universal gravitation, explained Kepler's laws of planetary motion. A fourth law is often also described in the bibliography, which states that forces add up like vectors, that is, that forces obey the principle of superposition. Newton's laws are applied to objects which are idealised as single point masses,
Reduced-gravity aircraft Reduced-gravity aircraft A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots. Versions of such airplanes were operated by the NASA Reduced Gravity Research Program. The unofficial nickname "vomit comet" became popular among those who experienced their operation. Parabolic flight as a way of simulating weightlessness was first proposed by the German aerospace engineer Fritz Haber and the German physicist Heinz Haber in 1950. Both had been brought to the US after World War II as part of Operation Paperclip. Parabolic flights are also used to