CYPRESS, Calif. – (June 6, 2013) – The Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final journey is captured in a compelling nine-minute video being shown on a Christie Roadster HD10K-M 3-chip DLP® projector at the California Science Center in the Mission 26: The Big Endeavour  exhibit. The film follows the shuttle as it flies over Los Angeles – transported on top of a NASA Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft – before landing at Los Angeles International Airport and taken on its 12-mile, three-day voyage to the Science Center with a cheering crowd of over 1.5 million who lined the route. The Space Shuttle Endeavour flew 25 missions into space, deployed three satellites and orbited Earth 4,671 times. Mission 26 refers to its final journey through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles to its permanent home at the Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion  where it will inspire future generations of scientists, innovators and engineers.

David Knight and Christie HD10K-M Follow the Voyage to the California Science Center

At the Science Center, guests visit the Mission 26 exhibit, which features more than 80 large-scale photographs depicting Endeavour’s journey. Inside the gallery is the Mission 26 Theater where the new film is running continually throughout the day. Following the movie, visitors can walk downstairs, visit various exhibits and then enter a large pavilion where the Shuttle is displayed.

“We did the film because people love to visually relive this moment in history. It was the first and last time ever something like this would happen on urban city streets and it brought all kinds of people together from all over the world. This commemorates that and gives those who didn’t get to see it a chance to experience it as well,” said David Knight, producer, Endeavour Project.

Knight led a large filming project that documented the entire move-process, beginning with Endeavour being mounted atop the 747 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and culminating with her installation inside the Shuttle Pavilion. He pursued the project as a labor of love and the response was overwhelming. The 150-person film crew, equipment and everything involved in the project were all donated.

“For the movie that plays on a nearly 30-foot wide silver screen on the wall – people enter from one side, sit down and watch the movie, and then walk out the other side,” said Knight. “The walls don’t go all the way to the ceiling and hanging above the back wall is the HD10K-M. It is front-projecting and shows the movie in 2D with the plan to make a 3D rendering of the movie, and then we’ll switch over to 3D.”

The most compact in its class, the Christie HD10K-M provides true HD native resolution (1920 x 1080) with up to 10,000:1 contrast ratio, dual mercury lamps, embedded Christie Twist™ image warping and edge-blending, built-in portrait capabilities and is 3D upgradable.

“I appreciate the brightness and color depth of the Christie projector: the Mission 26 Theater installation utilizes a wall-painted screen, thus the demands for output power are extremely critical. Two other projector-brands were tried and the Christie difference is stunning,” said Knight.

California Science Center Foundation executive William Harris explained the success of the Shuttle’s final trip and the movie capturing the entire event.

“No Shuttle has ever been available for up close viewing like Endeavour here; you can walk right under and around it. Other shuttles have been available for viewing such as in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. but they are roped off and you can’t go underneath,” he said. “Endeavour is mounted low to the ground, you can actually walk right under it and can read the numbers on the individual thermal tiles, of which there are over 20,000.

“There has always been a lot of pride in the Shuttle program and what mankind can do when we set our minds to it,” continued Harris. “We flew Endeavour throughout California atop the 747 before landing at Los Angeles Airport (LAX). An estimated almost four million people saw it fly over. The number of people who have seen all this is absolutely staggering.

“We are all very pleased – and with up to 25,000 visitors per day it’s important that we have a highly reliable, extended-duty-cycle solution. Christie has delivered that.”

The Mission 26 exhibition runs through Labor Day, September 2, 2013.

About Christie®

Christie is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio, Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world.  From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images.  For more information, visit www.christiedigital.com