<![CDATA[Disney Secrets Forums - Other Parks and Attractions News & Rumours]]> http://wdisneysecrets.com/forums/ News and Rumours from Parks and Attractions in the Orlando Area en Sun, 26 May 2013 03:11:29 GMT vBulletin 60 http://wdisneysecrets.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png <![CDATA[Disney Secrets Forums - Other Parks and Attractions News & Rumours]]> http://wdisneysecrets.com/forums/ Space Shuttle Atlantis Opening at Kennedy Space Centre on 29 June http://wdisneysecrets.com/forums/showthread.php?25636-Space-Shuttle-Atlantis-Opening-at-Kennedy-Space-Centre-on-29-June&goto=newpost Wed, 22 May 2013 19:46:56 GMT The world’s most comprehensive attraction devoted to the space shuttle opens Saturday, June 29 at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Space Shuttle... The world’s most comprehensive attraction devoted to the space shuttle opens Saturday, June 29 at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Space Shuttle AtlantisSM is the new, 90,000-square-foot, $100 million home of the priceless, historic spacecraft that tells the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program. The Visitor Complex will open at 9 a.m. and grand opening events will take place throughout the day.

More than 30 Atlantis astronauts will participate in the grand opening of Space Shuttle Atlantis, which will offer guests the public’s first access to the attraction. From only a few feet away, guests will be awed and inspired with an up-close, 360-degree view of Atlantis. The shuttle is dramatically showcased as if it were in orbit – as only astronauts have had a chance to see it. Atlantis is elevated 30 feet off the ground and rotated at a 43.21-degree angle with its payload bay doors open and Canadarm (robotic arm) extended.

Space Shuttle Atlantis features more than 60 interactive, touch-screen experiences and high-tech simulators inviting guests to “be the astronaut,” bringing to life the people, passion and patriotism behind the Space Shuttle Program as well as the complexity of the engineering marvel that launched the Hubble Space Telescope and built the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Atlantis grand opening festivities are included in regular Visitor Complex admission: $50 + tax for adults and $40 + tax for children ages 3-11. ]]> Wendy http://wdisneysecrets.com/forums/showthread.php?25636-Space-Shuttle-Atlantis-Opening-at-Kennedy-Space-Centre-on-29-June Space Shuttle Atlantis Emerges from Protective Wrap at Kennedy Space Centre http://wdisneysecrets.com/forums/showthread.php?25409-Space-Shuttle-Atlantis-Emerges-from-Protective-Wrap-at-Kennedy-Space-Centre&goto=newpost Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:24:23 GMT NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex today began the two-day process of unwrapping the Atlantis orbiter from the protective shrink wrap that... NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex today began the two-day process of unwrapping the Atlantis orbiter from the protective shrink wrap that has encased the priceless artifact during construction of the $100 million Space Shuttle AtlantisSM attraction, set to open June 29.

Atlantis has been enclosed in 16,000 square feet of protective plastic shrink wrap since its Nov. 2 move from Kennedy Space Center to the Visitor Complex and into the 90,000-square-foot attraction, which has been under construction for 15 months.

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In a planned approach today, specialists first cut the shrink wrap into sections and then lifted it away in a dramatic reveal of much of Atlantis, including the forward fuselage. The unwrapping process is expected to be completed on Friday.

Atlantis is raised 30 feet off the ground and rotated at a 43.21 angle as if orbiting Earth. When the attraction opens June 29, guests will have an up-close, 360-degree view of Atlantis from several different levels — the wear and tear of its 33 missions apparent on its protective external tiles.

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Next week, Atlantis will be inspected and prepared for display as the final phase of work on the attraction continues. Beginning in May, the orbiter’s payload bay doors will be opened, a meticulous three-week process, allowing guests to see inside the space shuttle’s payload bay as never before.

Meanwhile, assembly continues — with the aid of a 240-foot-tall crane — on two full-size, high-fidelity solid rocket boosters (SRBs), which, when vertically mated with a high-fidelity model of the external tank (ET), will form a dramatic, 184-foot-tall gateway under which visitors will pass to enter the Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction.

Space Shuttle Atlantis will tell the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program through a host of multimedia presentations and more than 60 interactive exhibits and high-tech simulators that will bring to life the complex components and systems behind this incredible feat of engineering. One of the most complicated and sophisticated pieces of equipment ever built, the shuttle was a vehicle that launched like a rocket, flew in orbit like a spacecraft and landed on a runway like a glider. The immersive experience also will shine a spotlight on the astounding achievements made over the course of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program, most notably the building of the International Space Station and the launch and maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope.
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]]> Wendy http://wdisneysecrets.com/forums/showthread.php?25409-Space-Shuttle-Atlantis-Emerges-from-Protective-Wrap-at-Kennedy-Space-Centre