June 2026

Our June meeting attracted 14 fellow scientists with 7 of them participating in a group session on the Space Race, covering the period from the end of World War 2 to the present.

First up was David, who provided a plastic model of the Saturn V rocket that propelled the first astronauts to the moon. He spoke about the origins of these rockets, from the German V2 to the Soviet Sputnik and Luna 1. Trevor followed on from these early days to discuss the first manned space flights of Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepherd and John Glenn, which would pave the way for the first moon landing in 1969.

Mick discussed the problems of maintaining communications between earth and space craft and Janet reminded us of the hazards associated with space with a number of tragic accidents over the years.

Sally spent a valuable (!) 10 minutes reminiscing about the popular children’s TV programme of the time, “Thunderbirds Are Go”. 

Alan discussed the origins of the Hubble Telescope, which has already provided useful insight into our understanding of space phenomena including Black Holes and Jupiter’s red spot. Finally, Jane reminded us of the many women who contributed to the launch of rockets and the construction of space suits.