Fredrikstad, Norway — When Space Shuttle Atlantis, the newest attraction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., opened to the public on June 29, a new chapter in the story of interactive AV design for the themed entertainment industry was written. The attraction was designed by PGAV and installed by Electrosonic. projectiondesign high-performance projectors are used in the pre-show visitor area and various exhibit areas to engage, enthral and entertain audiences.
The story of the Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction dates back to 2010, when Delaware North and PGAV in partnership with NASA gave PGAV Destinations a simple brief: to design and create the world’s premiere space exploration attraction. PGAV in turn engaged Electrosonic in a four-phase design and consulting process.
As is now commonplace at big attractions, on entering the building visitors are treated to a multimedia pre-show that provides the historical context for the exhibits they are about to see. The Atlantis pre-show features some 4 projectiondesign F35 wqxga video projectors, edge-blended to form an immersive experience, with content being served by individual, multi-head, custom-configured Delta media servers from 7thSense Design.
16 projectiondesign F32 projectors, running in 1920 x 1200 resolution and edge-blended in groups of four, are used to add video content for the four ‘arches’ that surround the Shuttle itself.
projectiondesign F32 projectors are used in Batchling exhibit area and F35 projectors are used in Hubble exhibit areas.
Much of the technology used has proven benefits for designers of visitor attractions, as Yiannis Cabolis explains:
“The projectiondesign projectors are likewise proven to be extremely reliable and to offer the kind of color accuracy and bespoke installation options you need when you are designing for a project like Space Shuttle Atlantis.”
Maria Dahl Aagaard, Product Marketing Manager, projectiondesign, says the Space Shuttle Atlantis installation is “yet another example of how our technologies don’t just provide solutions for attraction operators – they inspire them to push back the barriers of what is possible.”
Launched as the new home of the historic spacecraft that tells the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program, Space Shuttle Atlantis is a 90,000 square foot attraction that has been built at a cost of $100 million, providing the marquee element in the master plan of Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, which has operated the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for NASA since 1995.
Surrounding the Shuttle are state-of-the-art multimedia presentations that incorporate more than 60 interactive exhibits and audio/visual simulators, each of them giving visitors fresh insight into the extraordinary, 33-mission career of Atlantis, which included the launch and maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope as well as the building of the ISS.
