Documenting the STS-125 Mission of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in May 2009, director Toni Myers takes viewers on a voyage into the unknown in the documentary Hubble 3D. Originally scheduled for 2006, the STS-125 Mission was canceled due to safety concerns following the tragic crash of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February 2003.
According to production notes, in May 2009, the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched a mission to make vital repairs and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope, the world’s first space-based observatory, 350 miles above the Earth. On board was an IMAX 3D camera, operated by the shuttle astronauts. It captured stunning sequences of the five intricate spacewalks required to make those repairs, as well as close-up images of the effort to grasp the orbiting telescope with the shuttle’s mechanical arm at 17,500 mph, and one unexpected problem that threatened to sabotage the entire mission.
IMAX Space Team
The seventh film from the IMAX space team, Hubble 3D looks to be a bit more adventurous than Space Station 3D. The astronauts that worked on it have said that the film is "the next best thing to being there."
Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee, Leonardo DiCaprio, the film reunites the film making team from Space Station 3D, helmed by director and producer Toni Myers with director of photography, James Neihouse, who also served as astronaut crew trainer. The co-founder of IMAX, Graeme Ferguson is executive producer with Judy Carroll as associate producer and music composed by Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon.
Hubble Space Telescope in 3D
“This is star travel,” Myers attests. “You’re right out there, moving in space. The Hubble Telescope has amassed a monumental amount of data from the distant reaches of the cosmos, the birth of solar systems and ultra deep field galaxies beyond our own. That data has been turned into three-dimensional flights to transport audiences to the edge of the observable universe in a way most people have never even imagined.”
Her connection to the telescope dates back to its beginnings. “We had filmed Hubble before, prior to its launch, and covered some of the first repair mission in 1993, but it had only sent back a few images at that point so we’ve never had the opportunity until now to display its full potential. When you visit the Hubble website and see those incredible pictures you start to think about how they would look on the big screen and how people would react, and that’s how the project came into being. This is what IMAX was made for, to take people where they could never actually go, and it’s what I find so satisfying about making these films.”
Olivia Benson - Olivia Benson has been writing full-time since 2010, though it’s a craft she’s been passionate about since she figured out how ...
