AstrotalkUK

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

India and Space

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November 21st 2013 marks 50 years of the Indian space program. From humble beginnings devoid of infrastructure, experience or trained engineers, India today has an established track record of designing, building and launching satellites for its own national needs and commercially for others.

The next few podcast offer a glimpse of the people and achievements of this half a century old story .. so far.

Episode 62: An interview with Amrita Shah from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Author of the most comprehensive biography on Vikram Sarabhai (Vikram Sarabhai :  A Life). Book review of this fascinating book here.

Episode 63: Rakesh Sharma – India’s only spaceman. A video interview recorded in August 2013 where Rakesh Sharma talks about his spaceflight, its aftermath and his views on human spaceflight. Two minute trailer below.

Episode 64 – Bangalore Astronomical Society. Probably the most productive amateur astronomical society in India with a huge presence online and thus an international footprint.

Episode 65 – Professor UR Rao. A look back at the contribution of former ISRO chairman who was originally recruited in to the Indian Space program by Vikram Sarabhai. Whilst working at NASA in the early 1960s, a cosmic ray scientist Rao worked on several Pioneer and Explore spacecraft. Rao was in Dallas waiting to meet Kennedy on that fateful day…

Episode 66 –  Interview with director at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre originally known as Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launch Station. TERLS was the site of India’s first rocket launch in to space on 21st November 1963.

Rakesh Sharma two minute trailer

 

Episode 61: Reg Turnill on Wernher von Braun

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Reg Turnill wit von Braun
Reg Turnill with Wernher von Braun 1977

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 BBC’s representative in Moscow at Gagarin’s post flight press conference and told me in episode 41 of his experience when I went to meet him in January 2011.

Reg captures the ambiguity of the brilliant Wernher von Braun who he got to know so well that he called him a friend and yet believed that he was a war criminal and should have been hanged.

In this 30 minute podcast , the first a six minutes is  telephone conversation recorded on 3rd November 2011 followed by extracts from his talk at the UK Space Conference 5th July 2011 “The von Braun that I knew”. Reg shares three of his audio interviews with von Braun, the audio quality of the 2nd and 3rd is better than the first.

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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 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 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 stay in touch. In addition to his interest in rockets he had a strong interest in science. In the late 1930’s 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 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 began the ferocious and violent events of World War Two that would shatter  their dreams and lives along with 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 endured at Dunkirk.

Recently this shared story brought together Harry’s son Philip and Stanley’s daughter Ann.  In episode 50 Philip recalled the memories of his father 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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Chinese President Mao Zedong with space scientist Qian Xuesen in 1956
Chinese President Mao Zedong with rocket scientist Qian Xuesen in 1956

Even a cursory look at the Chinese spacecraft design indicates a close and obvious connection between the Chinese and the Soviet the 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 program  outlines the history, current status and future of the Chinese space activities.

Brian Harvey is a Dublin based writer, author, broadcaster and probably the most informed specialist on Chinese 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 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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