At the heart of Mission: SPACE is a centrifuge -- a spinning arm with a seat at the end that exposes the rider to varying g forces depending on how fast the arm is turning.
One g is normal gravity, while two g's makes you feel like you've doubled your weight. A normal shuttle mission exposes the crew to a maximum of about three g's. Disney won't confirm how many g's Mission: SPACE pulls at most, but it's close to two g's.
Tale Spin
However, what makes Epcot's Mission: SPACE centrifuge truly unique is that it's not like a carnival ride version of a centrifuge -- such as the Gravitron -- where you're
"simply strapped in" and whirled around for a few moments in the open air.
Instead, you and three others ride inside what amounts to a full flight simulator -- Disney calls them capsules -- complete with individual monitors, control sticks to move and buttons to push.
"We've taken that centrifuge technology and modified it, if you will, for an entertainment attraction. We've added layers of audio, video, lighting and special effects to create sort of an immersive experience that helps support and tell our story," said Mike Lentz, the Disney Imagineer who served as executive director for Mission: SPACE.
Put another way: Imagine a centrifuge where you sit at the end completely surrounded by the latest, most sophisticated flat panel plasma computer screen with high resolution graphics, digital stereo system with dozens of channels of sound, and an interactive display of buttons and switches. Now imagine it all whirling around in four-minute intervals, 12 hours a day, 365 days a year for years to come.
Finding or designing hardware that could take
such a pounding for prolonged periods proved to be
one of the toughest challenges in creating
Mission: SPACE, Lentz said. "We're trying to build something that is very robust, but at the same time has a resolution and a media quality that is the finest in the industry."
The electronic brains behind the attraction, according to a Disney fact sheet,
include two primary computers that control the entire ride, while 30 motion-control computers control the tilting of the capsules. Another show-control computer deals with the interactive functions within each capsule.
In all, four centrifuges are available for use
at the same time. Each centrifuge holds 10, four-person capsules, so if fully loaded 160 guests can move through the ride at a time.
And what a ride it is.
Thumbs Up
"I really enjoyed it and so did the kids," said Rhea Seddon, a former NASA
astronaut who flew three shuttle missions. "It sort of gives you that funny
feeling in your stomach as you clear the tower. I thought that was quite
realistic."
The setting for the attraction's story is an unspecified "several decades" into the future, where the International Space Station is old news and already has played host to the first pet in space and the first family in space -- accomplishments noted on a wall of history at the International Space Training Center (ISTC).
"Our story takes place in the future, but not too far in the future. Because this is Epcot we want our story to be based in science fact, not science fiction," said Bob Zalk, senior show producer for Mission: SPACE.
Walking through the ISTC you will see a slowly turning, 35-foot-tall wheel that acts as a space simulation laboratory complete with offices, sleeping areas and exercise rooms. In fact, it is the actual studio prop used in the 2000 Touchstone Pictures movie "Mission to Mars." A model of the ship from that movie also hangs from the ceiling, as does an actual back-up Apollo Lunar Rover on loan from the National Air and Space Museum.
"It was a really good combination of reality and looking ahead to what things might be like," said Seddon, who visited the attraction earlier this year before many of the decorations were in place.
"I knew intellectually it was a centrifuge and that's how they were generating
the feeling, but it doesn't feel like a centrifuge."
After your pre-flight instruction and assignment as a commander, pilot, navigator or engineer, you and three other "astronauts" board the fictional ISTC X-2 rocket. Having already been warned not to turn your head sideways during the ride, this is the point where those who are claustrophobic will have to decide whether they are go for launch.
There's plenty of wiggle room in your capsule seat and the safety bar that comes down over you is no more uncomfortable than any roller coaster restraint system. The difference with Mission: SPACE is that the wall in front of you folds down so your face is just inches from the computer screen. A constant stream of cool air blows on your face to help alleviate that closed in feeling.
As the video begins and the countdown to launch commences, the centrifuge is started up. The motion is so smooth you don't feel it, but at liftoff there's no doubt you feel like your moving straight up and rapidly accelerating. The g forces kick in and for just a moment or two it takes some effort to lift your arms up over your face.
The rest of the story is better left to personal experience as there are a few surprises along the way. But it all adds up to
modern technology providing old fashioned fun on a
ride that offers a glimpse of the future of
spaceflight.
NASA Help
NASA has cooperated with the development of Mission: SPACE at every step of the way.
For example, solid hydrogen fuel, aerospike rocket engines and hypersleep all are technologies mentioned in Mission: SPACE, and all
are being pursued in some way by the space agency, officials said.
"They've really done a very credible job at making this as strongly tied to reality as they can," said David Lavery, program executive for solar system exploration at NASA Headquarters. "These are all realistic concepts that we're pursuing in some of our advanced research and development efforts right now."
But the big draw for NASA in working with Disney was the opportunity for educational outreach, as well as just simple inspiration.
"Part of our vision is to reach out and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, technologists and astronauts -- and this is really a nice overlap between that part of NASA's mission and what Disney is trying to do," Lavery said.
Walt Disney's interest in spaceflight pre-dates
the formation of NASA in 1958, most visibly with
the 1955 opening of Disneyland, included a ride
called "Rocket to the Moon." He also worked
with Wernher von Braun on a trio of space-related
television episodes of "Disneyland."
Walt Disney was always looking ahead. That said, sometimes the technology moved faster than an
attraction's script and a ride became outdated. A
good example is when Walt Disney World opened in
1972, it's Tomorrowland featured the fictional
ride "Mission to the Moon," even though Apollo 11
had landed three years before. That ride
eventually became "Mission to Mars," and then
"Alien Encounter."
To avoid that situation from happening with
Mission: SPACE, Disney Imagineers built into
the attraction the ability to reprogram it to take advantage of the latest
discoveries in space.
"Because it's a show that's based in a lot of
high technology, it's easily updatable," said Zalk,
noting that changes were incorporated into the
show script just a few months ago because of some
news about the possibility of water on Mars, and
then again following the Feb. 1 loss of Columbia.
"We want to be able to tell as realistic a story
as we can, creatively from our end obviously, but
also have it based in some real science."
Seddon says Disney's done a great job and is
confident that Mission: SPACE will inspire many
people to learn more about the space program,
perhaps even taking time to drive over to the
nearby Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where
the real space program is on display.
"I hope people will get a feeling of what a thrill it is to actually launch, and to understand that it is quite a ride and very exciting," she said. "That's sort of the fun part of space, and of course there's a lot of work to do as well. But the launch, looking out the window and being in space is one of the most exciting things I've ever done and I'd like to think that other people can share in that."
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