From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!eagle!karn
Newsgroups: net.space
Title: Hail Columbia - film review
Article-I.D.: eagle.703
Posted: Mon Jan  3 22:38:31 1983
Received: Tue Jan  4 04:20:09 1983

Last week while on vacation, I saw the film "Hail Columbia" in the IMAX
theater at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

IMAX is that novelty large-screen format which takes standard 70mm
film and turns it sideways, allowing each frame to be much larger than a
conventional 70mm movie frame.  (Most regular movie theaters use 35 mm film.)
IMAX films are projected on a screen roughly 5 stories tall; from just
about any seat in the audience, the screen fills your entire field of
vision, with some head motion necessary to see the corners clearly.
The oldest and best known IMAX flick is "To Fly", which came out in 1976.
There is also an 8-channel surround sound system using a separate
synchronized tape deck which doesn't waste any valuable film area on
sound stripes.

"Hail Columbia" is a Canadian-made documentary about 45 minutes long
with covers the first launch of Columbia, starting with the rollout at
Rockwell and the ferry flight to KSC.  More time than I liked was spent
splicing in film clips, e.g, "Young and Crippen's thoughts on the
mission".  However, the part you were waiting for was well worth the
price of admission.  From a remotely controlled IMAX camera 1000 feet
from pad 39A, the pre-launch static firing test and actual launch was
filmed.  During the static firing test, the "twang" in which the whole
stack bends under the thrust of the main engines is very visible.
After shutdown, the combined stack slowly swayed back and forth, settling
in its original position, while a blizzard of snow fell off the external
tank.  Very impressive!  The launch sequence is re-shown several times from
several different angles simultaneously, in a split-screen fashion 
obviously intended to overwhelm the viewer (and save time).  I would much
rather have seen each sequence individually on the whole screen.
The landing is also covered, although the IMAX camera couldn't get any
closer to the strip than the rest of the public.  You get to hear the
double sonic booms (why are there two, anyway?) that the TV commentators
usually talk over "Well, we should have the booms. Yup, I just heard
'em..."

Despite its flaws, this movie is a must-see for any space junkie
(such as myself).  One begins to get a feeling of the size and power
of the shuttle which doesn't even begin to come out through a TV screen.

I believe it has also been shown in a museum in New York City, although
I don't know if it is still there.

Phil Karn