Attending to gravity and the sociocultural and political implications of ascent and descent are a fundamental part of being in the world. Gravity’s pull keeps us tethered to the planet while also making possible the gradients through which birds soar, humans jump, balloons float, planes fly, and satellites fall endlessly around the Earth. The near-surface condition of roughly 1G serves as a relatively consistent anchor from which to measure, gauge, and calculate launch and escape. Despite its status as the weakest of the fundamental forces, gravity gathered the debris of primordial disorder to form celestial bodies and holds together planets, stars, galaxies and the large-scale architecture of the universe. And yet, while gravity gently anchors us to home, we have long desired to escape and turn our eyes towards new horizons.