Mission: Space (stylized as Mission: SPACE) is a centrifugal motion simulator thrill ride at Epcot in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. It simulates what an astronaut might experience aboard a spacecraft on a mission to Mars, from the higher g-force of liftoff to the speculative hypersleep.
The attraction opened to the public in a "soft opening" mode in June 2003, and celebrated its grand opening on October 9 with a ceremony attended by Disney CEO Michael Eisner, HP CEO Carly Fiorina and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, as well as several NASA astronauts from its many phases of human space exploration (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the space shuttle program and two crew members aboard the International Space Station).
The attraction was built on the former site of Horizons, a dark ride that offered optimistic visions of what life might be like in the future. Horizons closed permanently in 1999 after a few years of sporadic operation; construction began on Mission: Space shortly thereafter. Industry estimates put the cost of developing the new attraction at US$100 million. The pavilion, like others at Epcot, features a VIP lounge for HP employees called The Red Planet Room.
Initially it was sponsored by Compaq, which began working with Disney Imagineers on the design in April 2000. Hewlett-Packard assumed the sponsorship upon its merger with Compaq in 2002. The simulator hardware used in Mission: Space was designed and built by Environmental Tectonics Corporation of Pennsylvania with a nearly $30 million contract awarded in February 2000. Environmental Tectonics sued Disney in 2003 seeking over $15 million US alleging failure to pay the full amount of the contract and sharing proprietary design details with competitors. Disney countersued alleging the company failed to deliver according to the contract and increased the cost of the ride by nearly $20 million US. The companies settled in January 2009.
The attraction was completely closed for a refurbishment on June 5, 2017. During D23 2017, it was confirmed that the Green Mission would be given a new video simulating a flight around the Earth, and the Orange Mission would keep the Mars mission, but with updated graphics. The attraction reopened on August 13, 2017.