AstrotalkUK

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

Episode 47:25th July 2011: Yuri Gagarin Statue in London

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A copy of the statue outside the school near Moscow where Gagarin trained in foundry workLinks 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 Roscosmos to the British Council, is located outside the British Council Offices in London but only for one year.

This episode is a collection of some of the speeches and my short interviews during the three events on 14th July. They were the unveiling of the statue in the morning, the lunchtime reception at the Russian Embassy and the evening reception back at the British council.  So, in order of appearance here is a list of all the contributors in this episode

Unveiling of the statue ceremony was opened by

  1. Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council
  2. Vladimir Popovkin Head of Roscosmos (speaking in Russian but with a translator)
  3. Yuri Gagarin’s oldest daughter – Elena Gagarina unveiled the statue
  4. Derek Pullen who provides a brief description of how the statue came from Moscow to London.

Two recordings during the lunchtime Reception at the Russian Embassy where incidentally, Gagarin spent each of his four nights in the UK

  1. The Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko,
  2. Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, who holds the record for the longest time spent in space

British Council Evening reception

  1. Nataliya Koroleva. Chief Designer Sergei Korolev’s daughter. Who gave me a gentle rebuke whilst looking through my book “Yuri Gagarin in London and Manchester” and seeing a photograph of Wernher von Braun and Herman Oberth but not of her father!
  2. The episode ends with Ambassador Yakovenko briefly recalling his recent meeting with the queen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Korolev’s daughter, grand daughter and great grand daughter

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The Final Shuttle Flight and the Shuttle landing Facility – a personal memory

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I had watched the channel 4 documentary on Saturday evening and inevitably ended up comparing it to the one on BBC last night. The ad breaks aside, the BBC’s version came out on top because of the focus on people, perhaps because of Kevin Fong’s connection to the shuttle program. The personal emotional contributions from the NASA administrator, people who will soon out of  job and the touching discussion between Piers Sellers and three other astronauts discussing frankly the real danger of spaceflight  to life (the throttle-up and mach 19 moments). I also found it was quantitatively more informative (decent rate of 28,000ft per minute,  home-made sandwiches, a minimum of 1000 landing approaches and the first view of the high res digital camera – described by its operator).

An odd thought arose whilst I was watching the close-out crew doing their thing. They get pretty up-close and personal but they were all male and not all astronauts are.

Apart from their technical skills and professionalism, I wonder how much of  the “spirit” of the BBC guides the program makers? Like the Shuttle the BBC itself is a marvel of our times.  An excellent documentary -well done all.

On a personal note..

Almost exactly 21 years ago (28th July 1990) I was in Florida working on my Private Pilots Licence. The variable weather in the UK was just too variable and I went out there for a month.

I was training at an airfield in Titusville, a short distance from Merritt Island where the 3 mile long Shuttle Landing Facility is located. It is part of the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

On a tip from a local pilot, I sought and got clearance (with restrictions – minimum altitude 1000ft and remain 5000ft west) from air traffic traffic controller  to fly along the runway. At that time I only had completed my solo but not my final test!

This 3 minute video is from  21 year old VHS tape! Filmed on board Cessna 152 (N49010) by Bill Benson and my instructor in Florida was a brit –  Gary Evans from AirwiseUK Ltd who had also gone to Florida for the flying friendly weather.

Episode 46:10th July 2011: Yuri Gagarin in London and Manchester. New Book and Personal recollections

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Gagarin approaching Manchester Town hall 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 and the Soviet Union’s historic technological achievement whilst assuring its allies, USA, France and West Germany that the visit would not be exploited exclusively as a communist propaganda opportunity.
When the Manchester based Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers discovered that Gagarin had trained as a foundry worker, they invited him to join their union as a honorary member.  He came to Manchester on 12th July and visited the union office, the Metrovicks plant in Trafford Park and the city’s town hall before flying back to London six hours later.

During the late seventies I had lived near this union office and only discovered in 2010 that Gagarin had actually been there. I looked but failed to find any books on the subject so I decide to write one. It is called “Yuri Gagarin in London and Manchester” and attempts to fill in a small bit of the Gagarin story.

The first and last chapters describe Gagarin’s flight, some of the key individuals involved, the air crash that claimed his life in 1968 and his personal impact as an advocate of peace during the Cold War.  In the remaining chapter – 2-7, I document the background to his invitation and details of where he went and who he met.  Some of those recollections are the subject of this episode. It includes clips from Captain Eric Brown and Reg Turnill, longer versions of which are available in episodes 40 and 41.  My thanks to those who contributed to this episode – Reg Turnill, Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw, Brenda Knowles, Marjorie Rose, Stanley Nelson, Captain Eric Brown and Stanislava Sajawizc.

Yuri Gagarin in London and Manchester
185 Pages, 27 Illustrations
ISBN 978-0-9569337-0-6
Paperback £10.00 (+postage) and eBook (iPad and Kindle) £2.50 available from publications@astrotalkuk.org
Download a pdf   of  the page of contents, Chapter 2 “An Uneasy Invitation” and the text above or all three in a zip file.

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Recollections of Yuri Gagarin in London and Manchester from AstrotalkUK on Vimeo.

Episode 45: 4th July 2011: Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot Al Worden

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Probably the most scientifically demanding Apollo mission, Apollo 15 was launched on 26th July 1971 on a two week mission. Al Worden in the command module orbited the Moon for 75 orbits whilst Dave Scott and James Irwin explored the south eastern edge of Mare Imbrium on the Moon’s surface.  Apollo 15 launched with the heaviest payload of all Apollo missions and included the first moon rover, a sub-satellite launched from Apollo 15 in to lunar orbit and a collection of science instruments including a high resolution camera to map the lunar surface.

To coincide with the 40th anniversary, on July 26th 2011, writing with Francis French Al Worden is publishing his autobiography.  In this interview recorded in London on 22nd May, Al talks about his test pilot career before joining NASA, the Apollo 15 mission, the “Covers incident” (these were stamped postal covers franked on the day of launch and again the day of ret urn for subsequent public sale) his post NASA career and his autobiography Falling to Earth.

In addition to bringing back 77kg of Lunar Material, high resolution images of the Moon from lunar orbit and images of the zodiacal light, solar corona and gegenschein, Al Worden conducted a 38 minute space walk a day after they fired the engine for their journey home from Lunar orbit.

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Today’s quote is from Al during this interview. It is a reminder that space exploration is not only about cutting-edge technology and breathtaking adventure but it is above all a human endeavour.

“The story of Apollo 15 is a story of betrayal by people and by the government”

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