How Does Mission Space Work? | Behind-The-Scenes Look
Mission Space at EPCOT is a ride that made waves when it first opened with massive g-force pressure and an experience unlike anything else at Walt Disney Word.
With one of the most intense ride experiences in the world causing guests to experience chest pain, dizziness, and disorientation, many wonder just how this ride works.
Our Mission Space Guide will give you a behind-the-scenes on how the ride actually works!
Questions We'll Answer About Mission Space:
- How Does Mission Space at EPCOT Work?
How Does Mission Space at EPCOT Work?
While Mission Space might seem like it needs to be a complex ride to achieve 2.5G's, it's actually a quite simple ride.
Mission Space is designed like a centrifuge (we've included a video of a NASA centrifuge at the end of this guide!) and utilizes much of the same technology astronauts use when training for space flight.
Mission Space of course is a scaled-down version of this technology, but still impressive!
After boarding Mission Space you'll feel the ride vehicle lift slightly into the air shortly after the experience begins.
This movement is not only part of the ride experience, but it is moving the ride vehicle into place with a slightly tilted angle which is key to feeling those g-force pressures.
After moving into place the ride vehicle slowly begins to spin which creates the experience of being forced back into your seat and pressure pushing down on your body.
During the "launch" sequence of the ride, the vehicle will begin spinning faster and faster until it tops off at about 2.5G's of pressure and then tapers off through the rest of the experience.
The whole room is essentially a bunch of ride vehicles spinning around in a circle like a merry-go-round!
The slight angle your ride vehicle is at, along with the intense rotation speed, is what creates the g-forces and "lift-off" experience.
Throughout the ride, there will be additional small movements that will come in the shape of tilts forward and backward to give you the sensation of your ride vehicle moving much more than it really is.
You'll also be prompted to press certain buttons and move the flight stick around the screen in your ride vehicle.
While these are fun interactive elements, they are preprogrammed into the ride experience, and if you don't press any of the buttons your ride experience will not change.
If you forget to press a button during the ride you'll hear a voice state "Computer Override Initiated" which is part of the ride experience to ensure you have a safe flight.
Whether you press all the buttons when prompted, only once, or never, your ride experience will always be the same.
When it comes to mechanics the "more intense" mission and "less intense" mission are essentially the same.
The big difference here of course is going to be the g-forces you experience, so the "more intense" mission will be spinning at a much faster rate than the "less intense" mission.
Other than the spin speeds, the ride is built with identical technology and mechanics for each mission.
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