"This is history" Space Explorers: The Infinite takes Denver Center visitors to space via virtual reality
After years of development, and even more years of recording, a one-of-its-kind virtual reality experience is coming to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
"Space Explorers: The Infinite" is the next immersive experience the DCPA is bringing to Colorado. The production transfers visitors to the International Space Station via virtual reality.
Those who visit the experience will get to walk through a virtual reality setup of the ISS while also interacting with astronauts in space. However, getting that experience to the consumer took years of work by Felix & Paul Studios.
"For me, this is not just technology. This is history," said Felix Lajeunesse, chief creative officer with the studio.
Lajeunesse and his team pitched NASA on the idea of sending virtual reality cameras to space with astronauts to document their daily lives. They convinced NASA to allow the cameras in the space station.
However, they needed to invent their own camera devices that were light, durable and simplistic to utilize by astronauts.
"That was not a walk in the park. That was a very long process, to actually build the cameras and get all of that flight certified and validated," Lajeunesse said. "If you want to capture a virtual reality 3D 360 film onboard the station, and outside of the station, you cannot buy that technology off of the shelf."
In an exclusive advance preview of the experience in Montreal, Canada, Lajeunesse told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas his team worked hard to make this project a reality.
It took Lajeunesse's team more than two years to develop each style of camera. They had to work with NASA and others to ensure the cameras were compatible with the ISS environment.
His team partnered with NASA to build cameras capable of documenting the largest media project ever shot in space.
After years of development, Felix & Paul Studios sent multiple cameras to the ISS. Filming started in 2019 and lasted more than three years.
12 astronauts from six different NASA missions were asked to keep the cameras near them throughout their days. They also were asked to keep the cameras at eye level, making the experience even more realistic for those who would view the videos in VR in the future.
"If somebody is standing two feet away from that camera, when you are in the virtual reality experience, you will see that astronaut two feet away from you. Exactly like in real life," Lajeunesse said.
Lajeunesse said, initially, the team could only download small pieces of clips from the ISS, citing bandwidth issues with internet connection.
However, the videos were eventually sent back to earth, collected and uploaded to a computer system. Lajeunesse recalled being amazed by everything the cameras had recorded when watching the clips for the first time.
While it would have been easier for the creators to have a VR experience where you sit down and simply let videos play around you, they stepped up their game and created a system where participants could physically walk through a model of the ISS.
The team constructed a technology that operates in a 10,000 square foot room. Users place VR goggles on their heads which have green lights on the front of them. Those green lights then communicate with a series of green dots peppered throughout the room. The users would never know they are walking through an empty room as the goggles make you feel like you're physically in the ISS.
Visitors can then stop and engage with astronauts at different places throughout the ISS. There are so many experiences recorded that no visitor will experience the same experience. And, in order to see all of the video recordings and learning opportunities, Lajeunesse said visitors will simply have to go through the experience multiple times.
Lajeunesse and his team also created a unique camera that could shoot the VR experience from outside of the ISS. The camera was capable of recording in the vacuum of space, a first of its kind 3D camera.
"To be out there in a spacewalk experiencing what it is like to float in the universe in front of our entire planet, the only medium to capture that is cinematic virtual reality," Lajeunesse said.
"The Infinite" visits the DCPA Feb. 3 through March 5. The experience will be hosted at the Stanley Marketplace in Aurora.
If you would like tickets to experience The Infinite, visit here.
CBS News Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
