Leading AV company, Electrosonic, has provided AV installation, integration and show programming for Heroes & Legends at the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex.
Highlights of the new attraction include a multi-sensory 4D experience, ‘Through the Eyes of a Hero’.
“We’ve worked on several attractions at the visitor complex including the Lunar Theatre at the Apollo/Saturn V Centre and Space Shuttle Atlantis®, ” explained Electrosonic project manager, Christopher Cooper.
“We worked closely with designer Falcon’s Treehouse on this latest project, which includes a 4D multi-sensory theatre, as well as a host of other interactive exhibits and show areas.”
Heroes & Legends focuses on the Mercury and Gemini astronauts – the pioneers of human space exploration.
Firstly,  a seven-minute multimedia presentation uses cutting edge technology to explore the idea of ‘What is a Hero?’. The show features astronauts and key figures from history such as Martin Luther King Jr. and author Mark Twain.
4D Multi-Sensory Experience
Space exploration is brought to life in ‘Through the Eyes of a Hero’ presented in the 4D multi-sensory theatre. Fourteen Christie Boxer 4K30 projectors, in stereo (Left Eye/Right Eye) pairs, project a star field onto a roughly 220-degree screen before the show begins. The drama of the first manned space missions is intensified via the use of wind effects. Astronauts Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn and Jim Lovell recall their experiences.
Further interactive attractions include nine stand-along pods representing the attributes of a hero. Visitors entering a pod trigger an IR camera and IR emitter prompting a touchscreen. Here, they can access video about artefacts related to the particular attribute.
The original Gemini IX-A capsule is also on view enhanced with a holographic Pepper’s ghost effect showing astronaut, Gene Cernan, on a dramatic spacewalk.
“The projection looks like an astronaut tethered and floating by the capsule, ” comments Cooper. “In addition, archival footage and other media is mapped to the contour of the capsule and reflected off the glass.”
