Conference 7.286::space

30.0. "SHUTTLE: AN AMERICAN ADVENTURE" by CASTOR::MCCARTHY () Thu Jan 17 1985 16:54

Associated Press Thu 10-JAN-1985 21:47                               Space Film

Shuttle Movie Carries Viewers Into Space
                            By JOHN DINGMAN
                        Associated Press Writer
   JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - You've seen it on television, you've read
about it in the papers, now you can see the movie, ``The Space
Shuttle: An American Adventure,'' a NASA documentary that had its
premiere Thursday.
   ``It was so realistic I almost grabbed my seat so I wouldn't
float away,'' said Ron McNair, a shuttle astronaut who helped film
the movie.
   The documentary filmed by the Russell C. Davis Planetarium in
Jackson, with cooperation of the National Aeronautics and Space
Admnistration, was projected on the dome of the planetarium,
giving the audience a feeling of being in the space shuttle and
hovring above the blue dome of the earth, miles below.
   Special wide-angle fish eye lenses provided a horizon-to-horizon
spectacle as the shuttle blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center
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Associated Press Thu 10-JAN-1985 21:47                      Space Film (cont'd)

in Florida, and carried astronauts on space walks, satellite
recoveries and weightless antics.
   McNair, who attended the preview, said the film provided a
realistic view of what it's like to fly in space, ``riding on the
fire and thunder'' of the take off.
   The project was a joint venture of the planetarium, NASA, and
Cinema 360, Inc., which helped develop the projection system.
   The film will also be shown at planetariums at Brevard Community
College, Cocoa, Fla.; Cernan Earth and Space Center at River Grove,
Ill.; Flandrau Planetarium, Tucson, Ariz; Fleischmann Planetarium,
Reno, Nev.; Hopkins Planetarium, Roanoke, Va., and Paulucci Space
Theater, Hibbing, Minn.
   Public showing begins Sunday and will continue for a month.
   Later it will be offered in 16 mm. and video tape versions for
release through the space agency's rental system.
   Richard Knapp, director of the Jackson planetarium, said the
proect was conceived in his office more than two years ago, and
received approval from space agency officials.
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Associated Press Thu 10-JAN-1985 21:47                      Space Film (cont'd)

   Much of the funding was derived from contributions from Jackson
residents, and from a grant from the Gannett Foundation, Rochester,
N.Y.
   The 32-minute film depicts the construction of the space
shuttle, with comments from the workmen and the engineers who
helped develop it. It carries the audience to Florida's beaches and
shows the crowds jammed into the area to see the flights. Then the
viewers see the thundering takeoff and 360-degree views of the
earh and the astronauts working in space, including shots of the
recovery of the Solar Max satellite.
   Final sequences show the shuttle's swooping return to Earth at
Edwards Air Force Base in California.
   Knapp said he hoped it would be the first of several space
movies, including the astronomical experiments planned by the space
agency in the next few years.
   ``Our cameras are flight ready, all we need is the money,'' he
said.




	I saw the film opening day at the Cernan Space Center, Triton
College, in the Chicago Area. It is a most impressive film, and I would
recommend it to anyone who has a chance to see it. They packaged the 30
minute film nicely around a NASA history presentation, for a close to 1
hour show. They were somewhat overwhelmed by the response. Usually they
draw a crowd of 20-30 people on a Sunday, but without our groups advance
reservations, we would have had to wait past 3 sold out shows for seats!
The rest of the Cernan Space Center left a bit to be desired, but wasn't
too bad for a small commuter college. They did have some memorabilia
from Gene Cernans Apollo 17 flight (suit, gloves, etc). For those who
don't remember, he was the last man to have walked on the moon
(hopefully for the moment only). 

	For those of you who don't have planetarium experience, let me
give one hint. Everything happens on the dome overhead, not in front of
you as in a movie theater. Sit in the back row to prevent stiff necks
trying to watch over and behind your head. Take your hint from where the
person running the show, and the control booth are located. 

"The Dream is Alive" IMAX film opens October 2 at the Pacific Science
Center, Seattle. 

From their monthly bulletin:

"The Dream is Alive" opens October 2, offering an insider's view of 
America's Space Shuttle program and featuring spectacular in-flight 
footage shot by 14 NASA astronauts on three separate missions in 1984. 
The 37-minute feature is narrated by Walter Cronkite.  Seen on a 
3-1/2 story high screen, "The Dream is Alive" includes remarkable film 
of astronauts at work, both inside and outside the spacecraft; the 
deployment of scientific and communication satellites, the dramatic 
capture and repair of the "Solar Max" . . . the first space walk by an 
American woman astonaut, Kathy Sullivan.

-gary-

(ever try lying on the floor in a planetarium? - that's the best way!)