A Codex 4K recording system has been launched into space for a forthcoming IMAX production, and will orbit the Earth for the next twelve months.
On September 20th SpaceX launched CRS-4, a commercial resupply services flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Travelling to the International Space Station, CRS-4 is carrying not only crew supplies, cargo and the ISS-RapidScat instrument, a replacement for NASA's QuikScat Earth satellite, used to monitor ocean winds for climate research, weather predictions and hurricane monitoring, and a Codex 4K recording system.
Paired with a Canon Cinema EOS C500 camera, the Codex recording system will be used by the astronauts onboard the International Space Station to capture a set of pre-determined shots at 4K resolution for an upcoming IMAX production, tentatively titled A Perfect Planet.
During the last few months the Codex recording system was put through rigorous testing, including radiation testing, by cinematographer James Neihouse and a team of engineers. Neihouse has worked on many IMAX movies, including Hubble 3D, Space Station 3D and Mission To Mir. The Codex system passed these tests and is now on its first mission into space.
Although different systems were evaluated, Neihouse said, “Along with its ability to capture all the required frame rates at 4K from the Canon EOS C500, it became clear that Codex is a rock-solid platform and workflow, backed by world-class support. It was the obvious choice for this project.”
“Everyone at Codex is excited to be involved in this ground-breaking endeavor,” said Marc Dando, managing director of Codex. “Codex equipment has already been pushed to the limit during the testing process and now we get to support this project in space.”
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