The February 2nd meeting had our chairman Peter Carlo presenting a talk entitled 'Space Flight'. He began by considering the 'flights of fancy' put forward in the field of Science Fiction. Although these were in some cases outlandish, there were were a number of feasible approaches such as rocket propulsion which have become a reality and the concept of 'space elevators' which require major advances in materials technology. The history of rocket design and the conquest of space began with the V2's and later with modified ICBM's. With a goal of interplanetry voyages, rocket propulsion continues to be in the forefront of technology. However, if a short travel time isn't a priority then systems such as ion drives and solar sails are favoured. These provide a steadily increasing (if only very gradual) acceleration to a craft which over a long timescale might reach speeds that are a significant fraction of the speed of light. Whereas Ion drives have been tested, solar sails have still to be successfully deployed in space. The presentation was well received and thought provoking.
The next meeting to be held as usual at the 'Friends Meeting House' in Granville Road, Clacton on March 2nd will have our secretary David Pugh giving the second part of his presentation entitled 'Galaxies Part II'