The final highlight in my working life was to work at the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan – from where Yuri Gagarin embarked on his first human spaceflight. It is still busy today launching astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station – and lots more.
I took with me the UK’s Mars Lander Beagle2 – the probe that was ‘lost’ on Mars at Christmas 2003, but ‘found’ 11 years later.
In this talk, I tell of my Beagle2 and Kazakhstan experiences – with a postscript on how Beagle2 was eventually found and identified on the Red Planet. A postscript looks at how later Mars probes have fared, and what’s planned for the future.

The talk is free and is open to members and non-members

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About the speaker: Terry Ransom

The talks I offer reflect some of the knowledge gained and experiences enjoyed in two very different aspects of my ‘working’ life. I worked in the aerospace industry for over 30 years – building and testing satellites and spacecraft.

That took me to launch sites around the world, the most memorable perhaps being a launch campaign at the Russian site at Baikonur in Kazakhstan – with the UK’s Beagle2 Mars Probe. That done, I took early retirement but became heavily involved with the British Schools Museum in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

I managed the museum (as a volunteer) for 3 years, and was a Trustee for 6 years. There, I developed a love of local history, acquired an in-depth knowledge of the early history of elementary education, and became an advocate of lifelong learning.