Kate Upton Goes Zero-G for Bikini Photoshoot

Swimsuit-clad model Kate Upton dives and floats, not in water, but through the air for a new spread in Sports Illustrated.

Upton flew on a Zero Gravity Corporation flight to model new bikini and one-piece fashions in weightlessness for Sports Illustrated’s 2014 Swimsuit Issue, which hit newsstands at February 18. Upton’s weightless experience shows what it might be like to model while in outer space, according to ZERO-G officials.

ZERO-G passengers experience weightlessness as pilots flying the company’s modified Boeing 727 fly in parabolic arcs while thousands of feet above Earth’s surface. As the plane tilts its nose and flies on the downslope of the parabola, passengers experience about 30 seconds of weightlessness at a time. For Upton’s shoot, the company flew a series of 13 weightless parabolas and four parabolas imitating lunar gravity, according to ZERO-G.

Upton floated through the plane in gold and white two-pieces and a gold lamé zip-up one piece. She also posed in droplets of weightless water while floating upside down in the plane for the magazine’s 50th swimsuit issue.

Credits: Sports Illustrated, Space.com