AstrotalkUK

Not for profit podcast. Astronomy, Deep Space Exploration and International Collaboration

Episode 56: 7th October 2012 – SpaceguardUK

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As the dinosaurs on the Earth 64 million years ago discovered, comets and asteroids have the potential for unexpected arrival with devastating consequences.

SpaceguardUK. Credit SpaceguardUK

The spectacular collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in July 1994 dramatically raised awareness and, no doubt, a little concern amongst the heads of government across the planet.

Since then, the British government has not really engaged, and so it is left to a handful of skilled and dedicated individuals through Spaceguarduk to provide the UK with its only organisation to address the hazards of Near Earth Objects.

The fireball over Europe in September 2012, demonstrated the risks are with us today.

The Spaceguard Centre was established by Jay Tate in 1997.

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Episode 55: 4 August 2012: Mars Curiosity Rover

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Since the mid 1970s six spacecraft (Viking 1 & 2, Sojourner, Opportunity, Spirit and Phoenix)  have successfully landed on the surface of Mars. In probably the most audacious, breathtaking and risky space missions, in less than two days, another  Mars Curiosity Rover will arrive on Mars. Using a technique never used before, NASA has described the Entry Decent Landing as the seven minutes of terror.

Launched in November 2011, the arrival of Mars Curiosity will for the first time make a high precision landing which is so crucial to its primary scientific goal of finding evidence of earlier Martian environment that may have been suitable for life.

Also known as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) it will be supported by a pair of NASA satellites (Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) already in Martian orbit. Mars has never been under so much human scrutiny. In addition to the still functioning Opportunity, a rover on the surface of Mars (launched in 2004) and the two NASA satellites, there is also the European Space Agency’s Mars Express is also in Martian orbit.

Dr Anita Sengupta is a member of the Entry Decent Landing and Advanced Technologies group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In this interview recorded on August 2nd via telephone from her office in JPL she captures the sheer exhilaration of the dramatic entry decent and landing phase  and describes her role in the Mars Curiosity rover mission.

 

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Episode 54: 23 July 2012 – Manchester Interplanetary Society and Stanley Davis

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Stanley Davis

The August 2012 edition of Spaceflight, the monthly magazine of the British Interplanetary Society, carried an article in which I discuss the Northwest of England’s contribution to Rocketry during the 1930s. An extended version of that article is available for free download on Astrotalkuk.org – here.

So on to today’s episode.

In 1937, two teenagers, Harry and Stanley, with an outrageous ambition to design and build rockets for space travel, joined a newly formed group with a name to match – the Manchester Interplanetary Society. Soon, each met a girl, fell in love, exchanged wedding rings and got married. They went off on their separate ways but pledged to stay in touch. In addition to his interest in rockets, he was also strongly interested in science. In the late 1930, he went by train to London to hear a talk from H.G. Wells. Had he not died prematurely, he, like Harry, would have immersed himself in the sci-fi fandom movement that was blossoming in Britain from the early 1930s.

Wooden Statue of Abraham Lincoln. Carved by Stanley Davis

Members of the Manchester Interplanetary Society. Harry Turner is 1st on the left

Two years later, the ferocious and violent events of World War II began that would shatter their dreams and lives, along with those of millions of others around the world. Harry Turner spent much of the War in India and, following his return, enjoyed a successful career as an artist. Stanley Davies died in August 1941 from injuries he had sustained at Dunkirk.

Recently, this shared story brought together Harry’s son, Philip, and Stanley’s daughter, Ann.  In episode 50, Philip recalls his father’s memories, and in this episode, Ann Sutcliffe remembers her father, Stanley Davies.

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Episode 53: 28th June 2012 – The Chinese Space program

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Qian Xuesen

Even a cursory look at the Chinese spacecraft design indicates a close, obvious connection between Chinese and Soviet space technology. No doubt a result of the close geography and a shared political ideology during the Soviet era.

In this episode, a space historian specialising in the Chinese and Soviet/Russian space programs outlines the history, current status, and future of Chinese space activities.

Brian Harvey is a Dublin-based writer, author, broadcaster and probably the most informed specialist on the Chinese space program in Ireland today. This conversation was recorded during the Shenzhou-9/Tiangong-1 mission, which orbited Earth with three crew members, including the first Chinese female astronaut, onboard. At the end of the interview, Brian talks about the Space Cooperation Memorandum signed last week.

This telephone interview was recorded on Tuesday, 26th June, and published today, one day before the scheduled return of Shenzhou-9.

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