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Honorary Members Should you wish to contact the
society or require general information please contact ASTRA
using the following Email address: Should you encounter any problems
with this Web
Page please
email: Prof. Oscar
Schwiglhofer and Prof. Archie
Roy Founder Members of ASTRA - without
their efforts ASTRA would not have come into
existence. We also remember ASTRA's Honorary
Members within this page. Oscar
Schwiglhofer fought in the
Resistance in Tran-sylvania and Yugoslavia, and took his
degree in Vienna after the war. In 1948 he was awarded an
honorary professorship for his services to the Austrian
government in recreating the mining industry. Oscar came to
Scotland in 1951 and began efforts to found a space flight
society, inspired by his continuing friendship with Oberth.
In 1953 he contacted Scottish members of the British
Interplanetary Society and a Scottish branch was founded in
December that year, becoming independent as ASTRA in
1963. In 1953 Oscar was conducting his own
research at Airdrie
Public Observatory, whose
running ASTRA was to take over in 1977. He remained on the
ASTRA Council, serving as Vice-P resident, President and
Past President, until 1990 when he became an honorary
member. In 1967 he began editing ASTRA's magazine
Spacereport and continued till 1972; in 1976 he began
publishing a monthly technical newsletter, International
Spacereport, and a monthly astronomy supplement in 1977. In
the 1970's and early 80's Oscar created two versions of a
satellite tracking station for ASTRA: the first was wrecked
by vandals and the second by a hurricane. He is Technical
Director of the society and Senior Curator of
Airdrie
Public Observatory. Prof.
Archie Roy has been a member
since 1954. He became Branch Chairman around 1958, when he
became Senior Lecturer in Astronomy at Glasgow University,
hosted BIS Scottish branch at the University Observatory,
and presided over the change to an independent society in
1963. In the mid-1960's he worked in the USA on the Lunar
Orbiter programme. He became Professor of Astronomy in 1982,
and an Honorary member of ASTRA soon afterwards. Archie is
internationally renowned in astrodynamics and in
archaeoastronomy, and was the opening speaker at ASTRA's
'Heresies in Archaeoastronomy' conference at the 1996
Edinburgh International Science Festival. He is also a
paranormal researcher and chairman of the Scottish Society
for Psychical Research. He has written several textbooks on
astrodynamics and general astronomy, two books on psychical
research, and six thrillers with scientific or paranormal
backgrounds. He was a speaker in ASTRA's "Man and the Stars"
and "Man and the Planets" discussion projects, and has a
guest chapter in "New Worlds for Old", the second book of
the series. Honorary
Members To view information about a
particular Honorary Member simply click on their name in the
table below. Use the links under the members details to
return to this table
Founders - Prof. Oscar Schwiglhofer | Prof. Archie Roy
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