Like so many in the “space community” I was saddened to hear of the passing of Reg Turnill. He was the BBC’s aerospace correspondent but is best known for covering the American Space program throughout the 60s and 70s that he documents so well in his book Moonlandings: An eye witness account. He was the [...]
The Red Rockets’ Glare – Book Review
Title: The Red Rockets’ Glare : Spaceflight and the Soviet Imagination, 1857–1957 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Author: Asif A. Siddiqi ISBN: 9780521897600 Price: £58.00 [414 pages hardcover] This is probably the most meticulous analysis of the culture of an insecure, troubled and courageous people: the Soviets and those that preceded them, who collectively pulled off [...]
Episode 54: 23 July 2012 – Manchester Interplanetary Society and Stanley Davis
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The August 2012 edition of Spaceflight, the monthly magazine from the British Interplanetary Society carried an article where I discuss the Northwest of England’s contribution in Rocketry during the 1930s. An extended version of that article is available for free download on Astrotalkuk.org – here. So on to today’ episode. In 1937, two teenagers Harry [...]
Episode 53: 28th June 2012 – The Chinese Space program
Brian Harvey is a Dublin based writer, author, broadcaster and probably the most informed specialist on Chinese and Soviet/Russian space program in Ireland today. This conversation recorded during the Shenzhou-9 / Tiangong-1 mission orbiting the Earth with the three crew including the first Chinese female astronaut on-board. At the end of the interview Brian Harvey talks about the Space Cooperation Memorandum signed last week.
A public event to commemorate Manchester’s first rocket pioneers
Manchester has a world renowned international airport, and if had a group of rocket engineers had had their way, could Manchester have had a spaceport to launch rockets, too? A group of rocket engineers lead by Eric Burgess formed the Manchester Interplanetary Society in 1936. Working closely with the Sci Fi community, their headquarters were [...]
National Astronomy Meeting 2012
A cram packed week – so much going on and the weather for the first half of this week is particularly cooperative for visitors to Manchester and observing the night sky. The weather can’t possibly last. I chose to miss out a couple of the evening events and do some observing. I was not able [...]
Episode 50: 26th March 2012: Manchester first Rocket Scientists
Robert Goddard in America , Sergei Korolev in the Soviet Union and Herman Oberth in Germany are three names credit with the development of rocket propulsion during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Each led a very small group with more dedication then resources working on a shoestring budget usually in their own time after work. Their [...]
BIS Northern Meeting York 19th May 2012
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A British Interplanetary Society meeting with a difference. The venue is in the North of England – the historic city of York. You don’t have to be a BIS member – all with an interest in spaceflight are welcome. A day long event with five speakers on subjects that include Lunar dust, Soviet & German [...]
Episode 47:25th July 2011: Yuri Gagarin Statue in London
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Links to audio and video below. The 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s UK visit was marked by the unveiling of an aluminium statue of Gagarin, an exact copy of the one outside Lyubertsy Technical School number 10 where Gagarin started his training as a foundryman. The statue, a gift from the Russian federal space agency [...]
Episode 46:10th July 2011: Yuri Gagarin in London and Manchester. New Book and Personal recollections
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On his first visit outside the eastern bloc, Yuri Gagarin arrived in London for a 5 day visit on Tuesday July 11th 1961. He was greeted with a tumultuous and sincere warm welcome everywhere he went including his meetings with the Prime minister and the Queen. The British government juggled with acknowledging Gagarin personal courage [...]
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