AstrotalkUK

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

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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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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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.