Kate Upton Sports Illustrated swimsuit 2014 zero gravity photo shoot one piece swimsuit and gold sneakers

It seems every time Kate Upton poses for the Sports Illustrate Swimsuit issue it’s in exotic locations where a bikini isn’t exactly practical. First it was the bottom of the world in the Antarctic and now the top the world, literally.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: 50 Years of Beautiful

Upton’s career is reaching new heights with the help of Zero-G, which performs parabolic flights that climb and descend at a pitch angle of 45 degrees. The roller coaster like ride simulates the weightlessness of space as passengers free fall for 20-30 seconds.

“In my experience at Sports Illustrated, it’s about the adventure,” Upton said in a behind-the-scenes video. “It’s so hard to explain how it feels. You’re weightless, you’re floating around, you have no control. But I got the hang of it.”

Kate Upton Sports Illustrated swimsuit 2014 zero gravity photo shoot gold bikini

In keeping with the space-theme, Upton showed off her globes and boy were they big and bouncy. Planet-themed beach balls orbited the model’s heavenly body yet never eclipsed it.

Kate Upton Zero gravity photo gallery

The model stripped down from a one-piece swimsuit with gold sneakers to a triangle and bandeau bikini, both available at Target (YMMV). Presumably there’s no changing room on this modified plane so it’s very possible we’ll see more leaked photos or video of Kate Upton topless in the future.

For the first time in three years, Upton will not be on the cover, at least not the front cover. The 50th anniversary edition of the magazine is a double-sized issue with a special back cover featuring the veteran swimsuit model.

Swimsuit cover models: Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen

The back cover leads in to a fashion retrospective titled “Five Decades of Sexy” as well as a more traditional photo shoot on beaches of the Cook Islands in New Zealand… you know, those places where you’re supposed to wear swimsuits!

Kate Upton Sport Illustrated Swimsuit 2014 back cover