Hubble 3D to Premiere at the National Air and Space Museum’s Lockheed Martin Imax Theater March 19
The Lockheed Martin Imax Theater launches its newest space film Hubble 3D March 19. This giant-screen film is the latest in the Smithsonian’s space-related Imax film series and is the seventh film created by Imax’s award-winning space team.
Hubble 3D chronicles NASA’s historic Hubble Space Telescope, the first major optical telescope to be placed in space. Development for the space observatory began in 1970, but technical glitches and other space-program setbacks delayed its launch until 1990. Since then, NASA performed five service missions that improved the telescope and enabled it to make in excess of 800,000 observations and capture more than 500,000 images of more than 25,000 celestial objects from within the solar system and beyond.
The film contains several minutes of Imax 3-D footage captured by NASA’s STS-125 Atlantis astronauts, including their intricate space walks during the final service repairs to the telescope. This footage will give audiences the sensation of being in space while performing some of the most difficult tasks ever undertaken in NASA’s 50-year history.
The Lockheed Martin Imax Theater’s five-story screen and 3-D technology will showcase the breathtaking images of the universe captured by the Hubble telescope in a truly immersive format. Viewers will feel like they are among the stars as they observe the splendor of nebulae and other galaxies and witness the life cycle of celestial bodies. They will also gain an understanding of the efforts needed to ensure the success of the Hubble mission.
Hubble 3D was directed by veteran Imax filmmaker Toni Myers (Space Station 3D) and was narrated by Academy Award Nominee Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island). It was produced by Imax and Warner Bros. Pictures in cooperation with NASA.
The 43-minute film opens March 19 and will be shown up to six times daily at the theater, located on the ground floor of the National Air and Space Museum at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. in Washington, D.C. Tickets will be available March 5 and may be reserved up to two weeks in advance. The public may call (202) 633-4629 or visit www.si.edu/imax for information or to purchase tickets.
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SI-89-2010
