Zero-gravity Kate Upton in a bikini is a thing now

Sports Illustrated spent vast amounts of money and effort on taking photos of a model in a bikini in zero gravity.

Let's all digest that for a second.

Yes, Kate Upton, a famous and well-liked model, did a photoshoot for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue that involved her becoming weightless in a zero-gravity plane, of the type used to train astronauts for space missions.

We'll admit the results are very polished —

— but this is absolutely ridiculous. Wait until you see the behind-the-scenes video.

This type of flight is used to train NASA astronauts in almost-zero gravity - achieved by flying a powerful jet plane in a rough parabolic arc and sending the plane into free-fall.

Each passenger on board one of these private Zero-G flights costs $4,950 - before tax - and although you can't see it, there are a hell of a lot of people on board this plane for the photoshoot. And they seem to have done several runs.

The behind-the-scenes videos really hammer home the extent of this bonkers PR campaign. Before the plane begins you can hear someone tell Upton: "Four years went into this … I love you."

Watch as the team scream "holy crap" and frantically try to photograph a woman in a gold bikini spiralling across the room.