The IMAX Corporation, whose large-screen films have wowed audiences since the 1970s, is turning astronauts into directors and producers in its latest venture: a three-dimensional documentary of the building of the International Space Station.

Set to be released in the spring or summer of 2001, the film will give viewers a feel for the lives of the astronauts who work on the largest-ever space project. "Everything from pinning up pictures of their families to how equipment gets installed," says film director Toni Myers.

The film will give a personal look at the human side of space travel, as well. Myers said she wants astronauts to open up to the camera as they prepare for launch, travel to the site, and construct the station.

IMAX, which won the NASA contract about two years ago to document the stations construction, has already produced five films in outer space, including one about the Russian space station Mir. The current undertaking will be its first 3-D project in space, because the companys original 3-D cameras were too bulky to launch and maneuver in a weightless environment.

To make this project possible, IMAX commissioned the firm MSM Design to design and build two 3-D cameras that are half the size of the originals. They can film both left- and right-eye views on one strip of film, rather than the two strips needed by the original devices.

The cameras are being sent to the ISS in December. Six shuttle crews will be trained in camera operation and cinematography. The first will be launched next March.

Viewers will have to wear special glasses light-years ahead of the blue-and-red cardboard variety to see the films images in three dimensions. Only about one-quarter of IMAX theaters in the U.S. are equipped to show 3-D films, but the film can be shown in 2-D at any IMAX location.