  Extending the understanding of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) physics to new
geometries and topologies has a long and varied history in ultracold atomic
physics. One such new geometry is that of a bubble, where a condensate would be
confined to the surface of an ellipsoidal shell. Study of this geometry would
give insight into new collective modes, self-interference effects,
topology-dependent vortex behavior, dimensionality crossovers from thick to
thin shells, and the properties of condensates pushed into the ultradilute
limit. Here we discuss a proposal to implement a realistic experimental
framework for generating shell-geometry BEC using radiofrequency dressing of
magnetically-trapped samples. Such a tantalizing state of matter is
inaccessible terrestrially due to the distorting effect of gravity on
experimentally-feasible shell potentials. The debut of an orbital BEC machine
(NASA Cold Atom Laboratory, aboard the International Space Station) has enabled
the operation of quantum-gas experiments in a regime of perpetual freefall, and
thus has permitted the planning of microgravity shell-geometry BEC experiments.
We discuss specific experimental configurations, applicable inhomogeneities and
other experimental challenges, and outline potential experiments.
