8-Year-Old US Boy Becomes Youngest Person To Fly In Zero Gravity

An eight-year-old boy from the USA has made it to the Guinness World Records (GWR) for being the youngest person to fly in zero gravity.

Jack Martin Pressman, during the flight, performed mid-air tricks such as backflips and 360-degree spins. In a video posted on Instagram, he is seen putting water droplets in his mouth and catching jelly beans. Mr Pressman flew in zero gravity 18 times, each lasting about 30 seconds. 

Sharing the post, GWR wrote, "Youngest person to fly in zero gravity (male) - Jack Martin Pressman (b. 11 March 2016), who is 8 years and 33 days old."

It added, "While most childhood dreams are eventually left behind, young Jack turned his into a record-breaking reality."

The flight was arranged by Zero-G, a company that offers zero-gravity experiences for research, astronaut training, and public enjoyment, GWR said. 

Space has fascinated Mr Pressman since a very young age. Jack Pressman's mother Jessica said, "He used to love Buzz Lightyear when he was a lot younger and actually, to foster that love and curiosity of space, we built him his secret space room."

"It had its private entrance, nobody else knew about it, and when you walked in the room was a beautiful moonlight blue, and there were hundreds and hundreds of glow-in-the-dark stars everywhere, and constellations and planets, and he had his little spaceship," she added.

According to the GWR blog, Jack Pressman's father Jason said he decided to go for this record after speaking with him about people's regrets and the importance of grabbing big opportunities. 

Jason once told his son about his regret of never having the opportunity to take a flight on the Concorde, a supersonic aircraft, which could fly between nations in hours, much faster than regular planes. Motivated by this, Jack thought about his aspirations and expressed his desire to experience a Zero-G flight, believing he might regret it too if he didn't.

"I think going to space will be super cool," said Jack Pressman.

Jack Martin Pressman wants to be an astronaut when he grows up, and his next goal is to become the youngest person to go to space.