London - Thrill-seekers wanting to emulate the exploits of the British astronaut Tim Peake will be able to experience a g-force greater than a rocket launch in a new space-themed rollercoaster announced by Alton Towers in the UK..
The Galactica ride - the world's first virtual reality rollercoaster - will open at the Staffordshire theme park in April. Passengers will wear headsets while being thrust along in a lying-down position, to simulate speeding through space during the three-minute ride.
The visuals in passengers' headsets will be synchronised with their movements to create the illusion of flying, as they travel at speeds of more than 45mph along an 840m track. They will experience a g-force of up to 3.5 - higher than the 3-gs typically endured by astronauts being sent into space.
Gill Riley, the theme park's marketing director, has described the attraction, which cost millions of pounds to create, as a “game changer”.
“Galactica will plunge riders into outer space with a g-force more powerful than a real rocket,” she said. “There is no other rollercoaster that combines the physical adrenaline rush of the ride with the virtual reality experience of soaring into space.”
Ms Riley added: “Tim Peake captured the imagination of millions of Brits last year when he set off on his mission to the International Space Station and now our visitors can become astronauts too.”
The announcement of the new ride comes after a serious crash on the park's Smiler rollercoaster last June resulted in two young women each having a leg amputated and 14 other passengers being injured.
The accident happened when 16 passengers collided with an empty carriage while travelling at around 20mph - less than half the top speed of Galactica. A drop in visitors to the theme park in the wake of the crash saw the share price of Merlin Entertainments, its owners, fall by more than 20 percent.
An internal investigation by Alton Towers concluded that the accident was the result of “human error” when staff misunderstood a shutdown message and manually restarted the rollercoaster. Although a separate inquiry by the Health and Safety Executive into the crash is ongoing, Ms Riley said: “It is our intention to re-open the Smiler in 2016.”
She insisted that the safety of visitors is the park's “number one priority,” and that new safety measures established since the crash include enhanced training.
There is also “an additional level of authorisation, so no manual override process may be completed without a senior member of staff agreeing and being in attendance”. There will be an independent inspection of the new ride before it opens.
Asked whether the new attraction will succeed in drawing people back to the theme park, Ms Riley said: “Alton Towers has a history of launching groundbreaking and innovative rides which have previously reflected in increasing visitor numbers. People want to try brand new experiences and Galactica is exactly that.”
The Independent