KSC Visitor Complex introduces 'Heroes and Legends'

As the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame prepared to welcome four new members Saturday, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Friday unveiled plans for a redesigned, high-tech attraction honoring the nation's astronaut heroes.

The multimillion dollar "Heroes and Legends" exhibit, slated to open by late next year, will be most guests' first stop upon entering the Visitor Complex, immersing them in stories of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts before leading them into a revamped Hall of Fame.

"Heroes and Legends promises to bridge the gap between the trailblazers who brought us to where we are today, and those who will write the next chapter in space exploration," said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, one of more than two-dozen astronauts on hand for an announcement and ceremonial groundbreaking.

Four more trailblazers — John Grunsfeld, Steve Lindsey, Kent Rominger and Rhea Seddon — will join the Hall of Fame in a 2 p.m. ceremony Saturday at the Visitor Complex's Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit.

The creation of Heroes and Legends means the 25-year-old Hall of Fame will move from its current location on the mainland side of State Road 405 to the Visitor Complex's main campus across the Indian River Lagoon on Merritt Island.

Orlando-based Falcon's Treehouse, which has done work for most of Central Florida's big-name theme parks, designed the attraction, whose budget is not yet final. The project will expand a building that now houses "Early Space Exploration" exhibits and the Debus conference center, next to the Rocket Garden.

Heroes and Legends will be "an immersive storytelling experience about those who first dared to bravely explore humanity's greatest frontier: Space," a promotional video said.

Guests will be greeted by an "inspirational, uplifting architectural facade" featuring an image of Mercury astronauts, then climb a ramp to the cylindrical "Discovery Bay" room, said Cecil Magpuri, president and chief creative officer of Falcon's Treehouse.

As artifacts light up in the dim room, a presentation will pose questions about who and what makes heroes of all kinds: "A hero is someone I respect, like my mom," one child says in the video.

Guests then enter the dark Heroes and Legends Theater and don 3-D glasses to experience a show about the nation's early astronauts, from Mercury through Apollo.

"The darkness is pierced by historic imagery that completely surrounds them, projected directly onto the cylindrical interior walls of the theater," Magpuri said. "As the show rolls to its inspiring, uplifting conclusion, guests will have felt that they have personally accompanied these space age heroes on this mythical quest."

Descending in elevators, visitors next enter a floor with 10 exhibit modules, where the video said "simulated holograms, augmented reality and other ingenious display methods" will show off artifacts and memorabilia.

Also on display will be a recreated Mercury Mission Control Center including several historic consoles and control panels, and the Sigma 7 capsule that Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra flew to orbit in 1962.

Finally, a rotunda-like space introduces the new U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, featuring a media loop montage and an interactive kiosk at the center highlighting the most recent inductees.

Steve Lindsey, one of the new inductees, said the new exhibit "looks really fun."

Like most astronauts, he'd prefer not to draw attention to himself and instead recognize the thousands of NASA and contractor workers across the country, including those on the Space Coast who prepared rockets and spacecraft for launch, who have made human space exploration possible.

"It's all about this huge team," he said.

But Magpuri said astronauts embody a "spirit of service and sacrifice" that have inspired generations. Visitors will leave Heroes and Legends and continue the rest of their KSC tour, he said, with a deeper appreciation of the qualities that make astronauts heroes.

"And having joined vicariously in this historic journey, guests may even find their own heroic potential stirring," he said.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean and on Facebook at facebook.com/jamesdeanspace.