ASTRONAUTS COMMEND RT’S 'SPACE 360' AT THE UN’S UNISPACE+50
MOSCOW, JUNE 22, 2018 —Global news network RT was the only representative from Russia at the Unispace+50 showcase in Vienna. Hosted by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the event was held to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the organization’s first conference on the exploration and peaceful use of outer space. During the event, the head of Roscosmos State Corporation Dmitry Rogozin, as well as astronaut Paolo Nespoli from the European Space Agency, shared their impressions of RT’s “Space 360” videos. In 2016, RT was the first to “send” viewers to space, providing unparalleled panoramic images of Earth as seen from the International Space Station.
"This is a wonderful project; it is worth continuing to show people space as seen from orbit. I am glad that Roscosmos and RT have filmed the first video of this quality and that the joint project is so successful. We will continue our cooperation, and if there are plans to film similar video material on the Moon – then we will fly to the Moon!” said Rogozin.
Astronaut for the European Space Agency Paolo Nespoli commented: “I've seen this footage shot by Andrey Borisenko at the space station, and I have to say it's pretty good, very amazing! Very good footage! It's not that easy to take this kind of footage because light conditions are so extreme at the station! I've tried several times and never could get anything like this.”
The educational application of the “Space 360” project was noted by the CEO of the South African National Space Agency, Dr. Val Munsami: “The video is excellent! I think it's really cool, because if you want to capture imagination of school kids this is like you do it. One of the challenges we have is to getting children to do science, technology, engineering, mathematics. Just by exposing them to something like this in terms of space environment, I think it's an excellent way to getting children interested and enthusiastic about space.”
RT’s panoramic videos, including those from its “Space 360” project, have been used for educational purposes in schools and museums in South Korea and China. In April 2018, RT, in collaboration with “Astronomers Without Borders” and “Energia Rocket and Space Corporation”, organized a special “space lesson” to connect Russian and American students while providing them with the opportunity to speak directly with astronauts aboard the ISS.
In 2015, RT became one of the first international media outlets to start producing news content in the immersive 360-degree format. In November 2016, RT became the first network in history to “send” viewers to space, providing unparalleled panoramic images of Earth as seen from the International Space Station.
In October 2017, RT, as part of the “Space 360” project, presented the world’s first-ever panoramic video filmed in open space — Spacewalk 360. The channel now boasts one of the largest original 360-degree content libraries with more than 200 videos. RT’s 360 content is available on Facebook, YouTube and the RT360 mobile app (available for download at Google Play, App Store and Oculus Store).
