AstrotalkUK

Not for profit website/blog on astronomy, space and my writing

BIS Northern Meeting 19th May 2012,York – Update

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Two weeks to go. Here is a quick update.

Currently 26 individuals have got tickets from the online system and we received a request to reserve an additional two for collection at the door.

I have had to make a change in the program.  Kevin Kilburn has had to pull out, but Mike Hall, a BIS member since 1966 and a Fellow of the BIS since 1982, has stepped in. Mike’s subject is one of the hottest topics in spaceflight right now – “The Chinese Space program“.  Kevin had warned me of this possibility back in February and Mike offered this “backup” option at around the same time, too.

Given that Kevin’s subject “History of BIS in the Northwest” is central to this meeting, he has come up with a novel suggestion. Kevin has asked me to do his talk. So I will cover Kevin’s topic and drop my Gagarin talk.

I have updated the original details here and in this pdf too.

Want to publicise this event locally? You can download a  single A4 MSword document here. Each page has two A5 leaflets. Please share.

Episode 50: 26th March 2012: Manchester first Rocket Scientists

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27th March 1937 - Foreground (left to right): Eric Burgess, Bill Heeley, Trevor Cusack, Harry Turner (Picture – Philip Turner)

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 collective work eventually lead to Sputnik, the space race and one of mankind’s greatest technological achievement – Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969.

During the inter war years, the northwest of England gave rise to organisations that nurtured the science of rockets and space travel. In 1933, Philip Cleater in Liverpool founded the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) to promote spaceflight, an institution which continues to exist to this day. A little known group established in 1936, called the Manchester Interplanetary Society (MIS) shared the lofty idea of space travel and had the ambition and talent to design, build and test rockets that could help to realise it.

The MIS founded by an ambitious and gifted sixteen year old Mancunian Eric Burgess in 1936.  Initially, Burgess used his own home, 683 Aston New Road as the headquarters but  moved to a founder member, Harry Turner’s house in Lonsdale Place not far Manchester City centre in the following year. Arthur C Clarke a member of both the science and sci-fi communities visited Harry in Manchester several times and promoted both.

Clayton Vale, a stone’s throw from the velodrome in East Manchester, is now a small picturesque park with the river Medlock running through its length.  On Saturday 27th March 1937 it was more of a slag heap for the nearby coal mine and local industry and a site used by the Manchester Interplanetary Society (MIS) to test launch rockets made by its members. Following five largely unsuccessful cardboard rocket launch attempts the sixth constructed from aluminium exploded injuring three, one requiring hospital attention.  The event was heavily featured in local and national press. Malcolm Wade, the MIS secretary said in the 29th March 1937 edition of the Daily Herald “If only the crowds had remained at a proper distance during Saturday’s trials instead of hustling around us, there would have been no accident.”

Most of the active members of the MIS received a summons to appear at the City Police Court on May 14. The charge against Harry Turner was that he “unlawfully did manufacture a certain explosive you not being allowed by section 4 and 39 of the Explosives Act, 1875 to do so“. Harry like most of the members was not eighteen so his father Henry is also named on the summons.  In the event, Eric Burgess successfully argued that they were not manufacturing explosives but conducting rocket propulsion experiments.  No one was found guilty. They agreed not to use Clayton Vale but another site in Glossop instead.

Pioneer 10 Plaque - the original idea from Eric Burgess

After the war Eric Burgess emigrated to America and worked for NASA and the space industry. He wrote many books including one of the earliest dedicated to rocket propulsion.

Perhaps Burgess’s most remarkable achievement is the least well known. Over dinner in November 1971 with Carl Sagan Burgess proposed that a message from humanity should accompany the Pioneer 10 destined for Jupiter in the following spring. Pioneer 10 would be the first man-made object to achieve solar system escape velocity and head in to interstellar space.  The plaque was designed by Carl Sagan and Frank Drake and successfully incorporated in to the mission in a very short time.  Although Burgess was informed about the plaque prior to launch, the image of a naked man and woman was so controversial in the 1970’s conservative America that NASA insisted on a news embargo until after launch.

Philip Turner

A plaque on display at the Smithsonian Institute in America recognises Eric Burgess’s contribution to space travel. In Manchester there is nothing to mark the unique achievements of Eric Burgess, Harry Turner, Malcolm Wade and others who were Manchester’s very first rocket scientists.

In this interview Philip Turner’s son, Philip talks about Harry but fist, Harry’s widow Marion on how she first met Harry.

 

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Episode 49: 17th March 2012: National Astronomy Meeting 2012

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This episode has no specific astronomical topic but draws attention to a very special astronomy meeting later this month. The Royal Astronomical Society’s annual National Astronomy Meeting last year was held in Wales, next year it will be in Scotland but this year it is in Manchester. National Astronomy Meeting 2012 or  NAM2012 will be hosted by the University of Manchester in partnership with Germany’s equivalent to the RAS, the Astronomische Gesellschaft in the last week of March 2012. Despite the title it is very much international in nature with professional astronomers attending from USA, Australia and Europe.

I hope be blogging from the meeting, if you are around do stop by and say hello. I plan to record interviews with some of the speakers for future astrotalkuk episodes.

From the evening of Monday 26th March to Friday 30th, the weeklong program has a fascinating and varied schedule including free public talks. Although free – booking online is essential. Some of the  outreach elements include

  • Two public lectures in the evening on Monday and Wednesday – book here
  • Two plenary session talks during each day of the week  between 09:00-10:00 and again between  17:00-18:00 (except Fri 15:45 -16:45). Contact Anna.Mayall@manchester.ac.uk Group booking by astronomical societies are welcomed but should done quickly – its first come first served.
  • A program of talks specifically for A level students. They are day-long event not free but refreshments are included.
  • A unique social event on the  evening of Tuesday 27th  in a city centre pub, an unusual blend of standup comedy and science £3.00 at the door.

In the following recording by telephone Dr Tim O’Brien from Jodrell Bank, explains the background to NAM2012 in Manchester.

Incidentally,  like me, you may enjoy a picture on Tim’s website. No doubt taken during the emmensly successful Stargazing live event earlier this year. It show’s Tim falling asleep in his chair with Dara Obriain looking on with Prof Brian Cox in the background. All the links online in episode 49.  Here’s Tim.

 

Summary of free public talks

Public Lectures

  1. Mon 26th March 8pm All from Nothing : The Structuring of Our Universe Prof. Simon White
  2. Wed 28th March 8pm The Juno Mission to Jupiter: What’s Inside the Giant Planet?  Prof. Fran Bagenal

Plenary Session Lectures

  1. Tue 27th March 9am-10am The Square Kilometre Array Michael Kramer
  2. Tue 27th March 5pm-6pm Probing the interior of Jupiter: NASA’s Juno mission Fran Bagenal
  3. Wed 28th March 9am-10am Frontiers in gravitational lensing Peter Schneider
  4. Wed 28th March 5pm-6pm The protocloud and the large-scale environment of galaxies Joss Bland-Hawthorn
  5. Thu 29th March 9am-10am Wonders of the solar atmosphere Alan Hood
  6. Thu 29th March 5pm-6pm Astrophotography Nik Szymanek
  7. Fri 30th March 9am-10am Catching Shadows: Kepler’s Year-Three Exoplanet Census Natalie Batalha
  8. Fri 30th March 3:45pm-4:45pm Cosmology in our backyard

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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 spaceflight, origins of the BIS and technical details behind the phenomenal success of the Apollo progam.

A summary below. Full details in the pdf indicated at the bottom of the page.

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Date: Saturday 19th May 2011
Venue: Denham Room : Priory Street Centre, York , Y01 6ET
Cost: £5.00 – Full day event – Seating capacity limited to 50
Tickets – Book online here

Confirmed speakers

Deadly Lunar dust (Dr John Cain  – UK Space Biomedicine Association). The first extraterrestrial material transported by man from an alien world to Earth was the almost 400kg of lunar rocks and dust. It is mysterious, fascinating but dangerous too. What were the hazards to the Apollo astronauts who brought it here and what has been learned by the scientist in the 40 years of laboratory experiments?

Origins of the BIS in the Northwest (Gurbir Singh – https://astrotalkuk.org). The BIS was founded in the northwest of England in 1933. The key players were Philip Cleater in Liverpool and from 1936 until the end of the war, Eric Burgess in Manchester. How did they realise their ambitious vision of establishing an Interplanetary Society a quarter century before a satellite was actually put into orbit?

How Apollo flew to the Moon (David Woods – How Apollo flew to the Moon). The Apollo program that took two dozen men to the Moon between 1968 and 1972 succeeded because of ingenious technological solutions developed rapidly midst the haste of the cold war. The author of the book, “How Apollo flew to the Moon ” explains the details of one of mankind’s most remarkable technological achievements.

China’s Long March to the Cosmos  (Mike Hall – www. aelitauk.com) China was the third country to independently launch humans in to space. That was almost a decade ago. Further success has been swift, including a space walk and a woman in space. Current active programs include lunar orbiter, lunar lander, mission to Mars and a Space station. As we approach the 40th anniversary of the last men on the Moon, why is it that most experts believe that the next one will be Chinese?

German Rocket Development (Martin Dawson – York Astronomical Society). ‘Modern rocketry and spaceflight owe a lot to German rocket development of the 1920’s, ’30’s and ’40’s. Although born as a military weapon, scientists and engineers have turned this sword into a plough share. German rocketry is a story that should not be forgotten, it has highs and it has lows, but is always fascinating.

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Download this pdf for all the details. This document is version 02. I will keep it updated from time to time with a final (version 1.0) by end of April.