Mission: Space is cleared for Launch

Although its official dedication would not take place until October 9th Mission: Space begins training guests for the first mission to Mars.

Planetary Plaza dramatically lit for one of it’s many impressive publicity shots.

Plans for Epcot’s Space pavilion began 25 years earlier at the inception of EPCOT Center in 1978 with an elaborate vertical CircleVision theater presentation that was to take guests on a almost insane trip through the cosmos in a spherical spaceship named alternating the Leviathan and the Titan. It was a concept that was so outlandish that that ultimately it was push ever further away from Phase I to Phase II and then EPCOT Center Phase III until it was phased-out entirely.

Several other attempts were made over the years from the Early 1990s “Journeys into Space” concept to a 1996’s “A Journey Beyond what is Know” and several others to be housed in the Horizons building. The final concept came at the turn of the century legendary imagineer Imagineer Eddie Sotto, proposed a concept and script for what eventually became “Mission: Space”.

Backstory excerpt:

It is the year 2036, and advances in space technology have finally made the exploration of our solar system possible. The world is undergoing a renaissance of the spirit of the 1960’s, when space represented our destiny. Several space stations are in orbit around earth, and robotic teams have been exploring neighboring planets for many years. Now astronaut teams are being sought for missions to nearby planets and asteroids. So many astronauts are needed, in fact, that the space organizations of the world have come together to form the INTERNATIONAL SPACE TRAINING CENTER. This new organization takes its motto from President John F. Kennedy’s optimistic call for space explorers in the 1960s: “We choose to go!”

The first publicity photo of Mission': Space’s “Planetary Plaza” taken in June 2003

The Design of Mission Space

The ISTC building is a stirring, emotional celebration of the quest for space. Its curvilinear form surrounds the Planetary Plaza. This inspirational courtyard features an array of spheres, symbolizing our universe. One sphere is a moonscape, with markers at the site of every lunar landing, both manned and unmanned. As we pay tribute to the space pioneers who have gone before us, a dynamic marquee demonstrating the excitement of the "X2 Trainer" draws our attention—it features the X2 encircling the Earth before shooting out into space.