ANCHORAGE AK Alaskan Academy Award winner Ben Grossman, has created a virtual reality tour of the International Space Station. <\/p>\n
Grossman, who grew up in Delta Junction and attended UAF before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film-making, created the virtual reality tour in partnership with NASA. <\/p>\n
He explained that his company Magnopus went to the Johnson Space Center and proposed to NASA to put a 360 degree camera in the International Space Station. <\/p>\n
The idea was to give people the feeling down on earth of floating around in space, said Grossman. <\/p>\n
To prepare for the pitch, the team at Magnopus created a virtual reality tour of the ISS instead of making pictures, 3D models or artworks, said Grossman. <\/p>\n
NASA approved the pitch and suggested that Magnopus should release the virtual reality tour as a stand-alone thing. <\/p>\n
Grossman agreed and with the support of Occulus Rift his company started developing the experience. <\/p>\n
Over 6 months, Grossman, his team of artists and a lot of astronauts developed the virtual reality tour that includes participation in tutorials, spacewalks and even docking a Space X ship. <\/p>\n
Grossman explained that for many of the astronauts who had been to the ISS, there was an element of homesickness to not being able to return to space. <\/p>\n
Grossman then went on to tell KTUU that he had to decide what image would be seen through the famed Cupola window of the ISS. <\/p>\n
Being Alaskan, Grossman decided on Anchorage but he was careful to put elements of Denmark, Africa and Italy to hide his hand. <\/p>\n
Grossman also confirmed that he is currently working on a major international film that is created in virtual reality and exported to be viewed in cinemas. <\/p>\n
He said the production, slated for release in 2019, is the first of its type in the world and that he would be able to give more information later this year. <\/p>\n
Grossman could not confirm a set timeline for when the 360 degree camera would be in place in the International Space Station <\/p>\n
To view the project visit: Click here to go to the VR Tour <\/p>\n
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Alaskan builds virtual reality tour of International Space Station - KTUU.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ANCHORAGE AK Alaskan Academy Award winner Ben Grossman, has created a virtual reality tour of the International Space Station. Continue reading