True, but many of the problems will be the same – nothing holding you laterally against each other, etc.
The “Vomit Comet” is the government version of the parabolic trajectory flights Shagmasty referred to in a later post.
G. Harry Stine wrote about the three dolphin badge in Analog back 20 years ago. He worked with NASA and had lots of contacts. He wrote it with absolute certainty that it hapened. I think this is the origin. I can’t find the article, I got rid of my Analog collection long ago.
BTW I posted a GQ like this a while ago when I remembered the article I mentioned above. The answers I got were a resounding, “Um, I don’t think so.” Which is pretty much Cecil’s answer in that column.
And Frank Drake believed that there were 10,000 advanced alien civilizations in the Galaxy. Without corroboration in some form, the claim is meaningless.
And guys, it doesn’t take three dolphins to have sex. Let’s not perpetuate that particular urban (marine?) legand, shall we?
Some links regarding research and speculation of sexual intercourse and ramifications in zero-gee environments.
Stranger
He claimed to have direct knowledge. He knew the people who did it. He worked for NASA. Not the same as claiming to know there are 10,000 alien civilizations. You can reduce every eyewitness account to that absurdity. Yes it would be better to have pictures of Sally riding but this is one account from someone who would be in a better position to know than you. I’d write to him to find out but I don’t think he’ll answer. He’s dead. I didn’t claim that it is the answer I was just reporting what someone in a position to know claimed. It was written before the internet so I can’t link to it.
Both parties can position themselves easily. No more crick in the neck for the man (as active party), no more rug burn on the knees for the woman (as active party).
And group sex can involve entirely new configurations of Klemperer rosettes.
I’m starting to see a new market for space exploration…
Stranger
What I am curious about is what would happen to sexual intercourse with zero gravity and no restraints. Just floating around. (I can visualize how restraints would sort of work).
Every action in space would have a most definite reaction. Much more so than on Earth.
So----the guy thrusts and the girl bounces away. (Or, to be fair, the girl on top thrusts and the guy bounces away)
Bounces away how far? Maybe 10 feet or so? Got to catch them again and reinsert for a second thrust.
This sex act could take a very long time.
Talk about your “60 minute man” (old classic pop song from the late 50’s or early 60’s)
Forget 60 minutes ---------this thing could take hours or days for consumation.
Perhaps you could get some scuba gear and try sex in water. Astronauts train in water tanks, so the dynamics of floating in water can’t be all that different from free-fall.
I think the resistance of water would have a slightly different effect than true zero gravity (altho I realize that that is how astronauts are trained to simulate zero gravity)
Plus you are dealing with the weight and encumbrance of an air tank in water.
Back to holding on to each other as a way to prevent losing each other------
I think also, as a practical matter, that in the ecstacy of orgasm that both partners might tend to “let go” I know that I have done that orgasmically.
Or even before orgasm—you tend to just let your arms flail about and your legs flaill about. But maybe that is just me and my personal experience.
“Letting go” and “Not hanging on” in zero gravity -----of course just means you just blew your partner 10 or 20 feet away. Would probably take a hell of a long time to find the hole again and reinsert.
Actually (speaking as a diver, although not an astronaut) I’d expect the dynamics to be considerably different. Although you float in water and it is relatively easy to get disoriented, there’s a definite sense of up and down, particularly when your regulator is upside-down and starts free-floating. Also, water offers resistance, where as free-fall in air offers very little; the net effect being that in free-fall you’ll tend to keep rotating or moving in a straight line after a contact reaction, whereas in water you’ll stop moving quickly but can create movement by waving arms or feet.
The first astronauts to perform fully-mobile excursions (Gemini IV, Gemini XI) found spacewalks to be far more physically taxing than expected. Even the simple act of turning a loose nut required bracing and adjustment, and was reported as much more difficult than Earthside simulations.
You wouldn’t want to have sex under water–Bond films notwithstanding–for reasons evident to any gynocologist. Forcing water into the uterus is a bad idea. And maintaining lubrication would be tricky at best, in any case.
Stranger
It was in a pool. People must do it in hot tubs all the time, though.
Not that much water got in. It was, ahem, a close fit. And because not much got in, lubrication wasn’t much of an issue either; the lady supplied ample quantities of her own.
The really interesting thing was the temperature differential between warm inside and cold outside.
I’d be really worried about the spacesickness problem.
Once you’ve acclimated enough to eat and drink and keep everything down, you should have no problems with other functions.
“On top”?
It all depends on the observer’s frame of reference. You of all people, Chronos, should know that.
Stranger
Not that that’s a bad thing. Provided you have the time.
You could always do it in a tight closet or other space. It might help if it was padded though. Both partners could actually fit into one shirt, if it’s large enough, and thus be bound together. The female would probably have to be a bit shorter. Personally, I think I could hold on to my partner, but unfortunately I’ll probably never get the chance to prove it.
I remember reading a cheesy sci-fi story once in such a scenario. The man was braced against a wall and the woman mounted him and spun around his penis like a top, which the man described as quite pleasurable. I imagine more lubrication than usual would be needed for such a stunt.