Gateway™: The Deep Space Launch Complex at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida incorporates exhibits created by Blue Telescope, designed to engage guests in the future of space travel.
Ready for exploration Blue Telescope helps Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests explore deep space by David Edmonds
H
ow do you inspire the next generation of dreamers and adventurers to face the challenges of interplanetary exploration? You build an attraction with a peek into the future of deep space travel, naturally. Gateway™: The Deep Space Launch Complex, the newest experience at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, opened June 15, 2022. It celebrates the present and future of collaborative space exploration, including NASA’s partnerships with Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Sierra Space, and ULA, showcasing next-generation spacecraft launching to the moon, Mars and beyond. In the style of contemporary, interactive attractions, guests are engaged with one-of-a-kind experiences, artifacts, exhibits, entertainment and education in the 50,000-square-foot, multilevel attraction. At Spaceport KSC, guests are transported to an airport of the future, hearing the atmospheric airport chatter and seeing distant views of active launches and landings through the galactic spaceport windows. Guests then board “spaceships” – in the form of a two-story, motion theater – for one of four journeys: Cosmic Wonders, Daring Explorers, Red Planet or Uncharted
18
Worlds. Each distinct destination allows for the possibility of a different experience with each visit. For two exhibits that posed unique challenges, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex turned to the storytellers at awardwinning NYC/Orlando-based experience design firm Blue Telescope. Their small-but-mighty team of creatives and developers were tasked to dream big for the RL10 engine display and the Robotic Space Explorers Interactive Wall within Gateway. Founded in 2001, Blue Telescope has built a portfolio of audience-focused, engaging, interactive, themed experiences with state-of-the-art technology in museums, theme parks and corporate spaces. The company’s motto of “Expanding the Human Experience” was an apt North Star for the Gateway project’s goals. And with a name like Blue Telescope, how could they not embrace space? “The exploration of deep space is a fantastic story,” said Trent Oliver, Blue Telescope Founder and Managing Director. “And a story this important needs to be told through unique experiences.”
inparkmagazine.com
