Thursday morning's landing of the space shuttle Atlantis was captured by 3DTV cameras rolling on behalf of Comcast for an Aug. 5 special about the NASA orbiting vehicle's final mission.
Executive producer Adam Friedman and his crew from Vertical Ascent Productions "were front and center for the landing of STS 135 Atlantis at 5:57 a.m.," In Demand told Multichannel Newsabout the touchdown at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
"Now Vertical Ascent will rush back across to their Los Angeles offices and put together the only 3D show to cover this epic event."
The MSO-owned video distributor and Vertical Ascent captured the Atlantis launch on July 8 in 3D with unprecedented access, just 500 feet away.
The 45-minute special was commissioned by Comcast as part of In Demand's series of "In Deep" 3D specials for free video-on-demand platforms.
Other In Demand affiliates will have access to the special, NASA Last Launch, as well.
Vertical Ascent also filmed mission control and astronaut training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus were all interviewed and viewers will see them suiting up and getting into the shuttle as well. Throughout the show, former shuttle mission commander Jay Honeycutt and other NASA experts will lend insight to the footage.
A Panasonic 3D A-1 camera used to shoot the special is also going on board the shuttle, and footage from space will be incorporated into the show.
Other "In Deep" specials produced by Vertical Ascent include such half-hour shows as Mardi Gras, BMX, Parkour and snow sports in Telluride, plus hour-long specials including last month's Kentucky Derby Diaries, which profiled several horses and their teams vying for spots in the 2011 Kentucky Derby.
In Demand is owned by Comcast, Cox Communications, and the Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership.
