Note: The following is rumor, not official confirmed fact.
While information on the actual ride system for Space is very sketchy, there are a few clues floating around the web. The origins of the Mission Space ride system appears to date back to a project that Disney developed for Disney Quest, called CyberSpace Mountain. To allow guests to create and then RIDE their own coaster, Disney worked with a company called ENVIRONMENTAL TECTONICS CORPORATION - specialists in simulated environments. (I believe Screamscape were the first to find the ETC connection)
The following comes from an ETC Annual report 2000
"Two years ago, ETC began collaborating with the Walt Disney Company on a project that evolved from our unique and proprietary knowledge of the human body’s physiology and psychology and our complementary motion base technology. Through developing and manufacturing this highly successful entertainment ride for Disney, our relationship with the entertainment giant blossomed in ways unimagined, making Disney a premier customer. We feel extremely proud of that relationship, and hope to foster it for a long time to come. Accordingly, we have formed a separate company, Entertainment Technology Corporation, to provide the needed focus, dedication and commitment necessary to ensure its long-term success. Such a valued customer deserves no less."
The above release relates to the CyberSpace Mountain projects. So at this point, we know Disney was/is working with ETC. The actual CyberSpace Mountain simulator appears to be one of these http://www.etcusa.com/atsglab.htm
With this in mind, the following press release was made by ETC. This appears to be talking about the Mission: SPACE project. The time frame, budget, references to the 'Major Entertainment Industry Customer' all seem to fit the bill.
Environmental Tectonics Corporation Signs Major Entertainment Ride Contract; Company Backlog Hits Record Level
Wednesday, February 2, 2000 07:47 AM
SOUTHAMPTON, Pa., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- William F. Mitchell, President and CEO, Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC) (Amex: ETC), announced the signing of a contract with a major entertainment industry Customer on January 28, 2000. The contract, exceeding $25 million in value, with an approximately 3-year performance period, was awarded to ETC's wholly owned subsidiary, Entertainment Technology Corporation, and will be performed at ETC's Southampton, PA, facilities. The total project will entail the design and production of a totally new entertainment ride attraction, and also includes supervising of installation. In issuing the announcement, Mitchell noted that the project has been in the development stage for over 18 months, and is now ready to enter the final design and production stages. The development effort represented a unique cooperative effort between ETC and its Customer, whose identity may not be disclosed because of contractual prohibitions. The Customer's selection of ETC for this major project was a direct result of ETC's exceptional combination of advanced ride perception technology and superior technical and manufacturing capabilities. Mr. Mitchell also commented that, "This contract reflects the Customer's high level of confidence in our ability to work with them on a day-to-day basis. This confidence has been evidenced by several other very successful entertainment rides we have produced for them, and several projects now in progress. It is certainly a major milestone, and it firmly establishes ETC as a major player in the robustly expanding entertainment ride market."
With the addition of this contract, ETC's total backlog now approaches $53 million -- the largest in its 30-year history.
For nearly 30 years, ETC has been on the leading edge of the design, manufacture, installation, training and long-term maintenance of its products in the U.S. and 65 countries worldwide. These products include: aircrew training systems for standard and high-performance aircraft; disaster management simulators; industrial sterilization equipment and environmental simulation systems; clinical Hyperbaric systems, entertainment/amusement systems; and related hardware and software products. ETC's main plant and offices are located in Southampton, PA, USA, with subsidiary locations in Orlando, FL, the UK, Warsaw, Poland and Ankara, Turkey.
Certain matters in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. This includes, but is not limited to, market acceptance of new products, competitive actions, economic conditions, and other risks indicated in filings from time to time with the Securities Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Environmental Tectonics Corporation
Assuming the above is talking about Space, is is pretty handy that ETC also have a centrifuge product - http://www.etcusa.com/atsgfet.htm
which would appear to fit the sketchy descriptions we have heard of the Space ride system.
So if the above IS true, it appears that Mission: SPACE is going to be comprised of 4 of these centrifuge simulators, with 4 person pods attached to multiple arms of the centrifuge. Disney will be then using advanced onboard effects to simulate both the visual and physical effects of a training mission to space.
The above press release states the ECT project is worth $25million. We know from earlier rumors that the overall project is to be upwards of $100million - so one question that has to be asked is where is the remaining $75million going? Could Mission: SPACE be the first outing for C.A.V.E, or some other new visual simulation technology?
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