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StarDome News
BREAKING NEWS INSIGHT 2011
KEEPING YOU POSTED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATES
SHOWING YOU WHY WE ARE
THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!
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DECEMBER 13th
A great way to finish off the year
I had an invite from private astronaut Richard Garriott to attend the UK premier screening in London of his film
"Man On A Mission"
Watch out for the film showing in the UK
from January 2012
Andy & Richard Garriott
A incredible, personal, touching story of his trip into space and back on the Soyuz TMA-13 mission
TMA 13 Launch
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NOVEMBER 21st
Andy was invited to London to meet UK born
NASA astronaut Dr Nicholas Patrick
Nicholas was a wonderful man, who gave a great insight into space walking at the ISS and explained his participation in NASA's NEEMO project.
Dr Patrick during his ISS space walk (EVA)
with the ISS CUPOLA module he helped to install
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NOVEMBER
Andy was invited to present a lecture at the inaugural NEAS Starfest in North Essex. It was a real honour to share the lecturing stage with space author
Dr Stuart Clark, Physicist Kelvin Long,
Astro-Imager Nik Szymanek and Sky At Night presenter Pete Lawrence.
Andy with long time friend Pete Lawrence
from the Sky At Night team and Sky at Night Magazine.
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NOVEMBER 15th 2011
Andy was a guest of the US Air force 15th November
on base at RAF Mildenhall
With Captain Chris Redford and his KC-135
KC-135 #80016
It was a great visit and many thanks to the USAF
for their fantastic hospitality
In front of the amazing
KC-135 Strato-tanker
this particular airframe is 56 years old!
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NOVEMBER 2011
Early this month Andy was asked to give some presentations at the Royal Geographical Society
in central London.
It was a great honour to be on the same billing as
Sir Ranulph Feinnes and Kate Humble.
The worlds greatest living explorer! Sir Ranulph Feinnes. He took a great interest in my planetarium and was such a wonderful man to talk too, we spent quite a while chatting prior to our presentations. His main lecture in the auditorium was brilliantly funny and touching at the same time.
What a true legend!
Sir Ranulph and StarDome
November 5th 2011
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OCTOBER 2011
Visit to
EADS- ASTRIUM
ASTRIUM is a major world provider of Science Satellites and it was great to have time to look around the facility courtesy of communication director Alistair Scott.
The group from the British Interplanetary Society
In particular it was fantastic to see the ESA Mercury bound Spacecraft BepiColombo being fitted out as well as the ADM-Aeolus, Atmospheric Dynamics Mission satellite
ESA - BepiColumbo
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OCTOBER 2011
Astronautics meetings
Andy was recently able to meet up with 5 Space Shuttle astronauts, an Apollo 13 flight officer and a pilot/wing commander of the SR-71 Blackbird
The fastest plane ever built.
 
 
BILL OEFELEIN BRUCE McCANDLESS
STS-116 STS-41B - STS31
 
KATHY THORNTON NORM THAGARD
STS-33, STS-49, STS-61, STS-73 STS-7, STS-51-B, STS-30
STS-42, Soyuz TM-21
Mir EO-18, STS-71
TOM JONES
STS-59, STS-68, STS-80, STS-98
JERRY BOSTICK
NASA Flight & Apollo 13 FIDO
COLONEL RICHARD "RICH" GRAHAM
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SR-71 PILOT & WING COMMANDER
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SEPTEMBER 2011
Andy attended the Equinox Sky Camp at Kelling Heath in Norfolk late in September. The event is one of the largest astronomy meets in Europe with well over 500 astronomers in attendance over a week.
On the main day, Saturday 24th September, Andy also gave a lecture at the event which was well attended and received
It was also time to do some astro-photography again and this time with aid of the new mount an NEQ-6 and a new refracting telescope from Teleskop Service.
Here are a couple of images captured by Andy.
One is of Comet Garradd and another of the Super Nova in M101 (lines indicate the supernova)
C/2009 P1 Comet Garradd
SN 2011fe in M101 is a star which perished in a type 1a Supernova event
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SEPTEMBER 2011
"A voyage on the ocean waves"
Andy recently continued his prestigious working relationship with the famous Cunard Line.
He was asked by Cunard to present several lectures on the very latest "Cunarder" the Queen Elizabeth as part of her maiden season.
This was a Trans-Atlantic voyage from
Southampton to New York
This was his 5th trip with Cunard having previously lectured for them aboard the Queen Mary 2 (twice) QE-2 and Queen Victoria
It is always a great honour presenting lectures aboard such wonderful ocean liners with a maritime history unrivalled anywhere
Andy is honoured and proud to work with Cunard
Andy on the grand staircase of Queen Elizabeth with
Lord Linley's stunning marquetry panel behind
Always an amazing experience sailing past the Statue Of Liberty in the early morning light - welcome to America
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AUGUST 2011
Working at Cambridge University
In a continuing link with the University Of Cambridge, Andy was asked to provide some planetarium shows at Selwyn College for several groups of students from a university in Japan
This was followed by a visit by us all to the Cambridge University Instutute of Astronomy and then we enjoyed afternoon tea at Trinity Hall
Students also enjoyed the visit to the famed Northumberland Telescope at the IOA
Outside the Northumberland dome
Students enjoy the dome
and at the sharp end
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AUGUST 2011
How do you follow witnessing history in the making with STS-135?
By meeting with the legend that is
Sir Patrick Moore
In Sir Patrick's study where the
Sky At Night is filmed
It was wonderful to meet up with Sir Patrick at his home in Selsey again. A wonderful host and inspiration to all. Thank you Patrick for a wonderful day.
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JULY 2011
When people ask, where where you when the Space Shuttle program came to an end?
what will you say?
Andy will say he was there to witness history!
ALL IMAGES BELOW ARE THE COPYRIGHT OF ANDY GREEN
Discovery rolls over from the OPF to the VAB
A great honour to get this close to the orbiter - Thanks NASA
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A very wet "press site" the day before launch
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Andy on the cralwerway just after RSS roll back
Atlantis in the background
Atlantis is ready for launch - is the weather?
Atlantis roars off the pad for the final Shuttle Launch July 8th 2011
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Heading for a rendevous with the
International Space Station
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MAY 2011
VISIT TO THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
ESTEC FACILITY AT NOORDWIJK IN THE NETHERLANDS
I was fortunate and honoured to be allowed access to the ESA facility with a group from the US Department Of Defence and had access to the test facilities, High Bay, technology centre and the space flight training centre. Many thanks to ESA's Dr C Walker for organising the visit.
At ESTEC's entrance
It really was an amazing trip into the inner sanctum of European Space Research that members of the general public are never allowed to see.
CUPOLA window module trainer
Identical to the real one on the ISS
Full Scale training model of the ESA Columbus Module. The real one is attached to the International Space Station ISS.
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MAY'S VISIT TO THE EFFELSBERG DISH
It was a real honour to visit with Dr Junkes at the Max Planck institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany and visit the 100m dish at the Effelsberg Radio Observatory. Effelesberg is one of the largest steerable dishes in the world!
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MAY
the first trip this month was to attend the annular Astronomy Show in Essen Germany
This is Europe's largest and best Astronomical/Space show and the 5th time Andy has attended.
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APRIL 2011
This was a very busy month with many meeting and consultations. Andy will be heading away in 2012 and will accompany trips to the USA for the Annular eclipse and transit of Venus in Hawaii. He will also be in attendance in Australia for the total eclipse
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MARCH 2011
March saw a meeting up with world renowned space flight expert and author Dr David Baker.
Andy & Dr David Baker
David has had a professional involvement with human space flight for more than 25 years, beginning with NASA in the early days of the two-man Gemini programme in the mid-1960s through the development of Apollo H-series mission planning and the Shuttle. During the late 1980s he worked around the world guiding satellite manufacturers and launch vehicle providers and advised banks and the space insurance industry in London and in New York on commercial space projects.
He was involved with the Shuttle programme throughout its development during the 1970s and 1980s and worked with NASA on key aspects of the vehicle’s mission capabilities. From the early 1980s he was involved with helping integrate the Shuttle into the expanding commercialization of space and worked with many governments around the world on utilizing space-based assets, visiting the USSR from 1984 to discuss international co-operation with the Soviet government.
Today David works as an aerospace consultant, as editor of Jane’s Spaceflight Directory for seven years and, over the last 40 years as the author of more than 80 books on science and aerospace subjects for publishers in the UK, Europe and the USA. Dr Baker was elected an Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics and is the recipient of the 1998 Rolls-Royce Award.
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FEBRUARY 2011
Andy was in attendance at Astrofest
Friday 4th & Saturday 5th February
in London
Some excellent guests and Lectures and nice to to meet up with Sir Patrick Moore again along with listening to Dr Brian May (he of Queen fame) and Professor Brian Cox
Dr Brian May & Sir Patrick Moore
Image: (c) Andy Green
Professor Brian Cox
Image: (c) Andy Green
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JANUARY 8TH 2011
An Evening with the Moon
Astrophotography by Andrew and (c)
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View of Earthshine
Photo taken using a Canon EOS 1000D through a Skywatcher Startravel 80mm telescope
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A FANTASTIC START TO 2011
Andrew was on BBC Radio twice today.
Once for BBC "Drive Time" talking about the eclipse, Quadrantid meteors and Jupiter and then live in the Evening as part of the BBC's Star Gazing live event. I did a radio show with BBC radio Cambs presenter Sue Marchant and we invited along the chairmen of Peterborough Astronomical Society, Mr Martin Hall and Mr
Paul Fellows from Cambridge Astronomical Association
JANUARY 4TH 2011
SOLAR ECLIPSE
A fantastic partial eclipse of the Sun
and my pictures of it featured
on the BBC
Image taken by and (c) Andrew Green
My Images on the BBC Web pages are
HERE
3rd image along
2 pictures featured on the BBC Cambridgeshire site
Image 1 & 5
HERE
An Image and Thumbnail on the main BBC Web site @ Science & Environment
HERE
&
It was also shown on BBC News 24 Television
BBC Look East Television and CBBC's Newsround
Very proud thing for me today
A page from From the BBC Web Site
Image taken by and (c) Andrew Green
Image taken by and (c) Andrew Green
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OCTOBER
Andrew was in attendance at the 2010 Federation Of Astronomical Society's AGM and Lectures on Saturday 9th October
The event was held at the
Institute Of Astronomy
at
Cambridge University
It was a fantastic day with superb lectures
‘Our Active Sun’ – Prof. Phillipa Browning
was one of the best lectures Andrew has heard in a long time with fantastic imagery and animations
Prof. Phillipa Browning enthralling the audience
Andrew also met up with Professor Tim Naylor
Tim is Head of Physics at Exeter University
Incidentally, Andrew knows Tim, they were both junior members of Sheffield Astronomical Society
over 30 years ago
Professor Naylor's lecture was entitled
‘Star and Planet Formation’
Professor Tim Naylor
Professor Naylor explains stellar accretion in Galactic spiral arms
One of the best FAS days for a very long time
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OCTOBER
Andrew was recently in Sheffield with StarDome Planetarium and had some spare time whilst there. He decided to pay a visit to see an old friend, the University of Sheffield Observatory at Bole Hill on the outskirts of the city.
Andrew remembers when the observatory was built, way back in 1980 and what a wonderful facility it was.
The Observatory on the far hill as viewed from Ringinglow Road
After this visit though,
the observatory appears to be in a really bad way on the outside. It looks like it hasn’t been used for quite some time now and unfortunately it is suffering vandalism. Much graffiti has been daubed on the outside as well as damage to ventilation vents, the lightning conductor and the entrance door. Even two of the external telescope piers have been totally detached from their concrete bases and lie damaged on the floor.
One of the vandalised telescope piers
Damage to the door which has been reinforced
The graffiti on the observatory building
It was a really sad sight to see.
Andrew will email the UoS astronomy dept and inform them of the current state of the site
- UPDATE 12th October -
Andrew has been informed that the plan is to now demolish the observatory
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SEPTEMBER
A NEW TOY
The new mount has arrived! the
Skywatcher NEQ6 - Pro Mount
This will enable Andrew to do some long duration exposure astro-photography with accurate tracking and control
The observing season will be upon us soon and the mount can be utitlised properly
The dovetail system allows for the mounting
of 2 telescopes
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SEPTEMBER
A VISIT TO THE BBC
Andrew has visited the BBC radio studio
to talk to BBC presenter Sue Marchant
BBC Producer's mission control
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SEPTEMBER 21st - 2010
FLY ME TO THE MOON - Almost!
Images of the Moon
Our nearest neighbour in space cannot fail to impress, it's large, bright and readily seen it has an awe about it and an element of intrigue.
As it was clear, Andrew decided to take time to attempt to photograph it this evening
He used a Skywatcher Startravel 80mm refractor with a Canon EOS 1000D camera mounted on top of a Manfrotto 058 Triaut Tripod. All pictures were taken using a Canon remote control to activate the camera in order to cut down on vibration.
Andrew first attached his Canon EOS 1000D to the refractor using a Canon "T" adapter and took the first image at prime focus (no eyepiece)
This image was taken through the 80mm telescope using "eyepiece projection" and utilising a
Meade Series 4000 12.5mm Plossl eyepiece
This image was taken through the telescope using the eyepiece projection method as in the image above but this time utilising a Meade Series 4000 9.7mm Plossl eyepiece to give a higher magnification
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SEPTEMBER 2010
Well the new astronomy season has gotten under way now the nights are drawing in.
As mentioned in a previous news update
Andrew has been trying his hand at astro-photography
Recently whilst at the Kelling Heath Sky Camp Sept 8th - 13th he was able to finally get to grips with some of the finer points of imaging the night time sky
Easier said than done!
A lot more to learn but here are 3 of the images
Andrew took at the camp.
Pretty good for a first attempt
M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. Our nearest galactic neighbour at approximately 2.2 million light years away. Look and you can even see the dust lanes in the spiral arms on Andrew's image. Also, look above the main Andromeda Galaxy and you will see another much smaller galaxy in this image. This is M110 or NGC 205 and it is a dwarf elliptical galaxy that is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy
The Pleiades, Subaru, or Seven Sisters, M45 which is probably the most beautiful star cluster in the sky. Andrew even manged to capture the nebulosity around some of the stars. The cluster is easily visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Taurus even though it is
440 light years away
Andrew also imaged the "Double Cluster" in Perseus which is the common name for open star clusters NGC 884 and NGC 869. NGC 884 and NGC 869 are at distances of 7600 and 6800 light-years away - a long way away!!
Thanks to Dave "Eagleseye" Eagle and Phil Shepard for their encoragement & help
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AUGUST 2010
BBC Radio
Andrew was at BBC Radio again this month for chat about what he has been doing in the world of space and astronomy.
Andrew does a 1 hour radio slot every month talking about what is happening in space with "Capt Janeaway" AKA BBC presenter "Cosmic" Sue Marchant.
Sue in her element - A wonderful presenter
He was fortunate enough to also meet with the
Mike O'Leary band who were fantastic
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AUGUST 2010
The Plough from Devon UK
Image Andy Green
Whilst trying out a new DSLR camera Andy managed to get a picture of Ursa Major with the
distinct shape of the Plough (in the centre)
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AUGUST 2010
Visiting Astro-Adventures in Devon
Recently Andy took the opportunity to visit
Astro-Adventures near Bradworthy, Devon UK
The 3m Dome at Astro-Adventures
Andy inside the 3m dome with it's
Intes Micro MN76 Maksutov-Newtonian
and EQ-6 Pro Mount
The "Run Off Shed" Observatory for the 20" Dobsonian
The huge 20" (Half Metre) f5.3 Dobsonian reflector inside
Note the step ladder which is required when observing near the zenith
One of the 2 Custom built chalets and nice Orion design
Owner and astronomer Murray Barber was a great help in showing Andy round the facility and telescopes.
Thank you Murray for your hospitality.
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AUGUST 2010
A date with the shooting stars
The annual Persied meteor shower didn’t disappoint in Cambridge. Andrew was outside to witness several shooting stars on the 12th August
Image Andy Green
look carefully and you can see the “W” of Cassiopeia, middle top, and down to the left of that is an aircraft trail... look closer and there is a Persied Meteor crossing the path of the aircraft
Here it is in closeup
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AUGUST 2010
University Of Cambridge
Andrew was recently invited back to the
University Of Cambridge
to give some astronomy lectures to their
International students.
It is always a great honour to work at such a prestigious University.
This year Andrew returned to
Trinity College and Selwyn College
Trinity College
Selwyn College
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JULY 2010
Easter Island, an Eclipse
Visting the VLT at Paranal
and astronomy in the Atacama desert
Well what an amazing trip...
Easter Island or Rapa Nui as we like to call it was an incredible place, the most isolated island on the planet
(5.5 hour flight from Santiago)
Andy and 2 of the famed Moai stone heads.
Easter Island - What an incredible place to be!
Andy Green ©
Our night time Rapa Nui view for 3 nights
The moon and Mercury
Eclipse Day
We had chosen an area of the island around the volcanic crater named Ranu Kau for our groups and we were proved right in our decision in that not all of Easter Island that day was clear, in fact some parts were totally clouded out. Having special access to the airport Meteo station proved the key for us and we chose correctly.
Partial phase - luckily the clouds were on the coast behind us and we had an unobstructed view of totallity
Viewed from Ranu Kau -Totallity
A special visit to the VLT
European Southern Observatory
On Cerro Paranal with the
worlds most advanced telescopes &
inside the telescope Dome of "Antu"
Astro Observing in the Atacama Desert
Having given several lectures on our trip along with night sky tours of the southern stars we then headed off into the heart of the arid Atacama desert in order to allow my group to experience the amazing night time skies of the Southern Hemisphere
They were not dissapointed as we spent a night at "Space Ob's" and whilst there we utilised their telescopes.
My group at Space Ob's
look at the Milky Way behind us....
not bad for just a 30 second exposure!
Night time, Atacama style!
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JUNE 6th 2010
Sunday Morning Radio Guest
A geat morning today as the Sunday Show's
newspaper reviewer
Andy reveiwed the Sunday papers and their news stories along with space chat with
radio presenter Kevin Saddington.
Andrew has done this review slot in the past and it's always nice to catch up with kevin. Radio is something that Andy really enjoys doing
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MAY/JUNE 2010
European Astronaut Centre
Cologne - Germany
A private tour around the EAC
EAC Building Entrance
Entrance hall & reception
With UK Astronaut Tim Peake
I interviewed Tim whilst at the centre
A really nice man and very helpful
We will follow his training and report back here from time to time
Visiting the EAC Neutral buoyancy lab
The 10m deep astronaut training pool
3 of ESA's new astronuats prepare to enter the water
they are: left to right - Alexander Gerst of Germany, Andreas Enevold Mogensen of Denmark and Thomas Pesquet of France
ESTEC
Noordwijk - The Netherlands
ESTEC is the
European Space Research and Technology Centre
ESA has sites in several European countries. ESTEC is the largest site and the technical heart of ESA
Great day and super visitor Centre - SPACE EXPO
ATT Astronomy Show in Essen Germany
The ATT show is the largest Astronomy show in Europe.
I have attended the show 4 times and will be there again next year
Entrance to one hall
Dealers in attendance - several from the UK this year
The next ATT will be on the 7th may 2011
we will be there - will you??
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MAY 2010
StarDome has been recognised by the
for our contribution to, and for the endorsing of the
"Washington Charter"
for communicating astronomy to the public
We have received an official certificate from the IAU for our contribution, a fantastic honour.
StarDome is always involved worldwide in the
promoting of astronomy & astronautics
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MAY 2010
Unveiling event for the Hubble Image
European Space Agency
The Hubble anniversary image unveiling event took place on the 15th of May at Greenwitch Observatory ltd. It was a special moment for StarDome given we were chosen by the European Space Agency as one of only 100 companies Europe wide to receive one of these amazing prints
It will be on display for the next few weeks at
GreenWitch in Dry Drayton, Cambridge.
Thanks to Greenwitch MD Neil Parker and Dr Lee Sproats for their help
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MAY 2010
Meeting a True Hero!
RAF Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC
Tony Iveson fought in the Battle of Britain with RAF Fighter Command, as a Sergeant pilot, joining 616 Squadron at Kenley flying Spitfires on 2 September 1940. On the 16th of September, he was forced to ditch into the sea after running out of fuel following a pursuit of a Ju88 bomber. He joined No.92 Sqn the following month. Commissioned in 1942, during his second tour he transferred to RAF Bomber Command, where he was selected to join the famous 617 Squadron, flying Lancasters. He took part in most of 617 Squadron's high precision operations, including all three sorties against the German battleship Tirpitz. He went on to become one of the most respected pilots in the squadron.
StarDome has made a donation to the New Bomber Command Memorial which will honour 55,000 RAF service personnel that served during the WWII
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MAY 2010
Meeting of minds
A meeting with Skylab Astronaut Dr Ed Gibson
He spent 84 Days, 1 hour and 15 minutes in space between 1973/4 aboard the
US space Station Skylab
It was also nice to meet up with former NASA flight Controller Gerry Griffin
Another highlight was having dinner with Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, thanks Freddo!.
Meeting Jim McDivitt again
Note the Union Jack jumper!
and to meet former astronaut Vance Brand for a second time.
Thank you to Scott Kleinhesselink for taking the pics
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MAY 2010
British Interplanetary Society
&
Spaceflight Magazine
Promotion
StarDome's Andrew Green is on the membership committee at the British Interplanetary Society
In May he manned the BIS/Spaceflight stand at
Autographica 15 in Birmingham UK
Andrew has had several articles published in
Spaceflight magazine
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APRIL 2010
StarDome has been chosen as one of only 100 companies and science establishments throughout the whole of Europe to receive a European Space Agency
20th Anniversary Hubble Print
Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
The newly released image is of a small portion of one of the
largest seen star-birth regions in the galaxy,
the Carina Nebula.
To celebrate the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s twenty years in orbit the European Space Agency/Hubble, in conjunction with their American partners, NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute, will be providing StarDome with a large format print of Hubble’s anniversary image for display. The 2.38 metre x 1.5 metre image is a stunning portrait of a star-forming region taken by Hubble's new Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).
Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009 (Andrew was at Kennedy Space Center NASA Press Site in Florida for the launch)
left the telescope more capable than ever. The astronauts repaired two instruments, replaced two others and also performed other necessary maintenance work on the veteran observatory.
The high quality of this image will make for a dramatic display and a fitting tribute to Hubble’s twenty years in orbit. ESA has therefore decided to produce ONLY 100 laminated copies of the image, and we have ben chosen to receive one, an incredible honour that reinforces our standing within the space community.
The Image is currently on display at
GreenWitch Observatory ltd
Dry Drayton, Cambridge
http://www.green-witch.com/
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MARCH 2010
An evening with Neil Armstrong
First man on the moon
I was able to attend an event at the US air base at RAF Mildenahll in Sufolk on March 11th at which the first man on the moon and the last man on the moon were in attendance
an amazing evening to be in the compnay of these legends and to hear Armstrong
say those imortal words in person
"Thats One Small Step For A Man
One Giant Leap For Mankind"
Thanks to Steve & Scott my American friends who both work at Mildenhall for the USAF for access to the base
Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan & Apollo 13's Jim Lovell
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FEBRUARY 2010
Andrew was in attendance at Astrofest in London
I was able to distribute more leaflets for my upcomintg trip to Easter Island for the 2010 Total Solar Eclipse
It should be a fantastic trip!
On the House of Optics Stand with one of the Explore Leaflets
Sir Patrick Moore was there as well.
It's always nice to catch up with Patrick
I have met Sir Patrick on many occasions
and have been fortunate to visit hm at his house, Farthings in Selsey, West Sussex
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