ASTRA History

ASTRA Home page History Home Page Third Ten Years               If you haven't already done so Please Sign ASTRA's Guestbook                        Should you wish to contact the society or require general information please contact ASTRA using the following Email address: info@astra.org.uk                               Should you encounter any problems with this Web Page please email: portwin@easynet.co.uk

1977   Bottom of Page Apr.16. First AGM as company, postponed from April 2. Ed Buckley elected President, Oscar Vice-President, Bill Ramsay Secretary, Duncan Lunan Treasurer; Ordinary Members Gavin Roberts, Malcolm Laughton. The only drawback was that as a company, we could no longer have a representative of the junior members on the Council, as we had done for several years. The subscription was raised to £4 and a membership target of 100 was set - not attained until 1986! May 21. Airdrie Public Observatory had been reduced to a poor state by negligence (the previous users had left the dome open, and it had been wrecked by a storm). Ian Downie proposed that ASTRA become the new caretakers, subject to an agreement that Monklands District Council would replace the dome if ASTRA members refurbished the telescope. June 26. Resurgence Committee formed for the European Space Association (ESA2), which Andy Nimmo had formed at Eastercon 1976. Four issues of a journal 'Space Outlook' were produced over the next two years, but ESA2 folded in 1979. July 7. Observatory agreement signed with Monklands District Council. Aug.20. ASTRA photo exhibition at Law Village Gala Day. Aug.27. Formal weekly meetings resumed at new premises. Sept.10. Dr. Robin Green, Glasgow University, our first guest speaker in a long time: 'A Relatively Light-Hearted Look at Relativity'. Sept.29. Duncan Lunan gives paper 'The Role of Nonweiler Wave-rider Spacecraft in Exploring & Developing the Solar System' at the L5 Society Conference in London. This paper summarised the "Man and the Planets" conclusions about Waverider's value, and was printed (abridged) in Asgard (see below), in full in Spacereport in 1981, and by several other societies. An abridged version appeared in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society in 1982, and the international resurgence of Waverider started from there. Oct.1. Duncan Lunan, 'October the 1st Is Not Too Late' - the Politics of Survival. Oct.3. Hamilton Photographic Society signs agreement to rent storage space and meeting room. This was to have been the first of a number of agreements with local societies, to finance the ASTRA rooms. However they left soon afterwards, having been tipped off that we were about to be evicted (unknown to us) for alleged non-payment of rates. This began a prolonged battle with unsympathetic local authorities, eventually lost in 1982. The rent and rates were put up in repeated rises, appealed against but never returned to the original level or even to the previous year's. To meet the first increase David Proffitt, Paul Benson and I agreed to finance the rooms between us, and David continued to support the society financially until 1985. Oct.15. A.W.K. MacGregor, 'Energy Options'; also printed in Asgard. Oct.22. Ian Downie, 'Astrophotography'. Oct.29. Chris Boyce, 'O'Neill Habitats and Cybernetics'. Oct. Gavin Roberts launches Asgard, the new ASTRA journal.  -o0o-   Top of Page 1976 1978

Click here to return to top of this page

ASTRA A to Z

ASTRA Home Page | History Home Page | Third Ten Years

1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980