In addition to flight director, Griffin was the former Johnson Space Center director and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) official.
On serving as a technical consultant for this live experience, he said, “I think it’s going to be a dynamite production. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve been through the script several times and making comments. I think it’s going to be really good. I am excited to get out and to see it myself. I am looking forward to it. The script is really good.”
Griffin shared that he is stoked that this event is happening nearly 50 years after the initial landing on the moon that took place on July 20, 1969. “Apollo was a great adventure 50 years ago. Sometimes, when I look back, I am in awe of how we did all that with the primitive technology at the time compared to what we have today. Back in the day, with no pun intended, we were immersed in trying to get to the moon. It was an extremely fun time. We were all young people and even though things didn’t work out perfectly each time, we did okay,” he said.
“It was very satisfying and we had a lot of pride. We were proud of all we’ve been able to do,” Griffin added.
Most impressive about The Lunar Dome is the largest touring theatre venue in the world, with 40,000 square feet of 360-degree projections, with a capacity of 1,600. “This show has a history in it so it’s educational. It’s a quick summary of why and how we got on this track to go on the moon with President John F. Kennedy’s initial goal-setting. We were definitely in competition with the Soviet Union,” he said.
“The film is done in a very entertaining way. It is not a documentary. It involves real-life actors. Also, it is going to inspire a lot of young people to think about traveling beyond this planet,” he said. “That will certainly get younger people thinking about bigger horizons and bigger things to accomplish. Young people need the same opportunities that we have.”
He shared that technology has changed space science substantially. “The tools today are a lot better,” he admitted. “The ability of what the folks have done of the Lunar Dome and the construction of it and the graphic projections are entirely different from what we had back then. I think this show is going to be fun for the audience and all of us that played a part in it. It is going to bring back some memories that we have forgotten.”
For more information on this Apollo 11 live production, check out its official homepage. “I really hope that this show will be another important link to not wait 50 more years to go explore the cosmos and deep space with humans. We’ve done a pretty good job with robots, but we’ve got to get the human element back into it since that’s what captures the American and the international imagination. I hope this plays another role in getting us back in space with humans,” he concluded.
Read More: Digital Journal chatted with Scott Faris, the director of Apollo 11 — The Immersive Live Show.
