A jet carrying astrophysicist Stephen Hawking took off yesterday from the Kennedy Space Center on a flight to simulate zero gravity and make Hawking the first disabled person to experience weightlessness.

A nurse lifted Hawking’s paralyzed arm so he could wave to news cameras before he boarded the jet.

“As you can imagine, I’m very excited,” Hawking told reporters before the flight.

“I have been wheelchair-bound for almost four decades. The chance to float free in zero-g will be wonderful.”

Hawking, a 65-year-old mathematics professor at the University of Cambridge who has done groundbreaking work on black holes and the origins of the universe, suffers from the paralyzing disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“I want to demonstrate to the public that anybody can participate in this type of weightless experience,” Hawking said.

The zero-gravity flight in a modified jet creates the experience of microgravity during 25-second plunges over the Atlantic Ocean.

Hawking believes in the importance of private space ventures and the need to reduce the cost of space tourism so it’s accessible to more people.