Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: Astronaut Hall of Fame welcomes 2015 class

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: May 30, 2015 at 3:25:26 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Astronaut Hall of Fame welcomes 2015 class

KSC Visitor Complex introduces 'Heroes and Legends'
James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 8:15 p.m. EDT May 29, 2015
(Photo: KSC Visitor Complex)

As the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame prepared to welcome four new members Saturday, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Friday unveiled plans for a redesigned, high-tech attraction honoring the nation's astronaut heroes.
The multimillion dollar "Heroes and Legends" exhibit, slated to open by late next year, will be most guests' first stop upon entering the Visitor Complex, immersing them in stories of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts before leading them into a revamped Hall of Fame.
"Heroes and Legends promises to bridge the gap between the trailblazers who brought us to where we are today, and those who will write the next chapter in space exploration," said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, one of more than two-dozen astronauts on hand for an announcement and ceremonial groundbreaking.
Four more trailblazers — John Grunsfeld, Steve Lindsey, Kent Rominger and Rhea Seddon — will join the Hall of Fame in a 2 p.m. ceremony Saturday at the Visitor Complex's Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit.
The creation of Heroes and Legends means the 25-year-old Hall of Fame will move from its current location on the mainland side of State Road 405 to the Visitor Complex's main campus across the Indian River Lagoon on Merritt Island.
Orlando-based Falcon's Treehouse, which has done work for most of Central Florida's big-name theme parks, designed the attraction, whose budget is not yet final. The project will expand a building that now houses "Early Space Exploration" exhibits and the Debus conference center, next to the Rocket Garden.
Heroes and Legends will be "an immersive storytelling experience about those who first dared to bravely explore humanity's greatest frontier: Space," a promotional video said.
Guests will be greeted by an "inspirational, uplifting architectural facade" featuring an image of Mercury astronauts, then climb a ramp to the cylindrical "Discovery Bay" room, said Cecil Magpuri, president and chief creative officer of Falcon's Treehouse.
As artifacts light up in the dim room, a presentation will pose questions about who and what makes heroes of all kinds: "A hero is someone I respect, like my mom," one child says in the video.
Guests then enter the dark Heroes and Legends Theater and don 3-D glasses to experience a show about the nation's early astronauts, from Mercury through Apollo.
"The darkness is pierced by historic imagery that completely surrounds them, projected directly onto the cylindrical interior walls of the theater," Magpuri said. "As the show rolls to its inspiring, uplifting conclusion, guests will have felt that they have personally accompanied these space age heroes on this mythical quest."
Descending in elevators, visitors next enter a floor with 10 exhibit modules, where the video said "simulated holograms, augmented reality and other ingenious display methods" will show off artifacts and memorabilia.
Therrin Protze, chief operating officer, KSC Visitor Complex, discusses new "Heroes and Legends" attraction. By James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY Posted May 29, 2015
Also on display will be a recreated Mercury Mission Control Center including several historic consoles and control panels, and the Sigma 7 capsule that Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra flew to orbit in 1962.
Finally, a rotunda-like space introduces the new U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, featuring a media loop montage and an interactive kiosk at the center highlighting the most recent inductees.
Steve Lindsey, one of the new inductees, said the new exhibit "looks really fun."
Like most astronauts, he'd prefer not to draw attention to himself and instead recognize the thousands of NASA and contractor workers across the country, including those on the Space Coast who prepared rockets and spacecraft for launch, who have made human space exploration possible.
"It's all about this huge team," he said.
But Magpuri said astronauts embody a "spirit of service and sacrifice" that have inspired generations. Visitors will leave Heroes and Legends and continue the rest of their KSC tour, he said, with a deeper appreciation of the qualities that make astronauts heroes.
"And having joined vicariously in this historic journey, guests may even find their own heroic potential stirring," he said.
Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.
Copyright © 2015 www.floridatoday.com. All rights reserved.

New, interactive Astronaut Hall of Fame to open next year at KSC
Cecil D. Magpuri presents NASA's latest exhibit "Heroes and Legends"
By Scott Powers Orlando Sentinel contact the reporter

Astronaut Hall of Fame plans new, high-tech home at Kennedy Space Center
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame will relocate to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where it will be merged into a high-tech, interactive attraction, officials announced Friday.
The new attraction will be called "Heroes and Legends, Featuring the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame."
Ground was broken Friday on the hall's new home with 25 astronauts on hand, moments after officials announced the project. It's set to open next year.
"Today, we take the dream that was first conceived by America's space pioneers and give it a new life, a new incarnation, befitting the service and sacrifice of all those who dared to follow in their footsteps — many of whom are in the room with us today," said Therrin Protze, KSC Visitor Complex chief operating officer
Heroes and Legends will be built between the KSC Visitor Complex entrance gate and the rocket garden, intended as the park's first experience for most visitors. No cost estimates were announced.
The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame was first opened 25 years ago, several miles west of the KSC Visitor Complex on State Road 405. The KSC Visitor Complex took over operations in 2000.
The Heroes and Legends building would bring visitors in through a series of rooms designed to immerse them in 360-degree video and audio, 3-D video, hologram and virtual-reality presentations of astronaut experiences, including those of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Jim Lovell and Neil Armstrong. Attraction designer Cecil Magpuri, president and creative officer of Falcon's Treehouse of Orlando, said the intention is to give visitors the essence of the heroism ascribed to the astronauts. Then visitors would enter the Hall of Fame exhibit floor, filled with artifacts, pictures and more videos featuring inducted astronauts.
The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame has 87 enshrined members so far, and four more are set to be inducted Saturday for the museum's 25th-anniversary class: John Grunsfeld, Steven Lindsey, Kent Rominger and M. Rhea Seddon.
Copyright © 2015, Orlando Sentinel

U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame welcomes 2015 class
May 30, 2015 by Spaceflight Now
Grunsfeld, Lindsey, Rominger and Seddon. Credit: NASA
CAPE CANAVERAL — A proud "Hubble Hugger," the final commander of shuttle Discovery, the first person to fly a docking to the International Space Station and one of the first U.S. women to join the astronaut ranks were inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Veteran space shuttle astronauts John Grunsfeld, Steve Lindsey, Kent Rominger and Rhea Seddon were honored in a ceremony held at the Kennedy Space Center's Atlantis attraction.
It is the 25th anniversary of the Astronaut Hall of Fame. The foursome brings the total number of inductees to 91, joining the likes of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, John Young, Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride.
Grunsfeld completed eight spacewalks over the course of his five space shuttle missions (STS-67, STS-81, STS-103, STS-109 and STS-125), including serving on three of the five missions that serviced the Hubble Space Telescope. He is currently the agency Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Lindsey was pilot and commander of five space shuttle missions (STS-87, STS-95, STS-104, STS-121 and STS-133). During his last flight, he commanded the 39th and final flight of space shuttle Discovery. Lindsey retired from NASA and joined Sierra Nevada Corp. to lead the Dream Chaser spacecraft flight operations.
Rominger flew aboard five space shuttle missions (STS-73, STS-80, STS-85, STS-96 and STS-100) and was commander of STS-96 Discovery, the first docking of the space shuttle to the International Space Station. He retired from NASA in 2006 to accept a position with ATK Launch Systems.
Seddon was selected by NASA in 1978 as part of the first U.S. astronaut class to include women. A veteran of three space flights (STS-51D, STS-40 and STS-58), Seddon served on both Spacelab Life Sciences flights. Now with LifeWings Partners, LLC, she acts as a consultant to healthcare institutions across the United States.
On Friday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for the "Heroes and Legends" attraction opening in 2016. It will see the Astronaut Hall of Fame relocated to the main KSCVC museum property from its current location across the river.
An artist's concept of Heroes and Legends theater. Credit: KSCVC
Heroes and Legends will feature a 3D omnidirectional theater, designed to make guests feel as though they are floating in the vastness of space.
"Heroes and Legends promises to speak to the hearts and minds of all generations, from those who bore witness to some of America's first space launches, to those who dream of someday being among the first to set foot on Mars," said Bob Cabana, KSC center director and former astronaut.
"Today, we take the dream that was first conceived by America's space pioneers, and give it a new life, a new incarnation, befitting the service and sacrifice of all those who dared to follow in their footsteps – many of whom are in the room with us today," said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. "I know I speak for all of those involved when I say, we could not be more proud to create this attraction in your honor."

© 2015 Spaceflight Now Inc.