IMAX gives 2 space shuttle cameras to Smithsonian

WASHINGTON — IMAX Corp. is donating its first cameras used to film aboard the space shuttle to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

The large-format cameras used to make 70-mm films will be donated to the museum in a ceremony Wednesday. They’ll become part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.

Nearly 100 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts were trained to operate the IMAX cameras in space. They created the first giant-screen images of Earth and of life in zero gravity. The result was a series of six IMAX space films, including “The Dream is Alive,” ”Blue Planet,” ”Destiny in Space” and “Mission to Mir.”

One camera was kept in the space shuttle cabin and another in its cargo bay.

Between 1984 and 1998, IMAX cameras were flown on at least 17 space shuttle missions.