(Source: STFC press release)

People around the world watched in wonder as man first landed on the moon on 20 July 1969. Forty years later, children across the UK can experience the awe of the Apollo space missions and touch the moon themselves thanks to a special lunar rock loan scheme offered by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

STFC is the UK’s only authorised source for the loan of rare samples of moon rock and lunar dust and since the scheme was launched in 1984 hundreds of schools, colleges, universities, museums and astronomical societies across the country have enjoyed them free of charge.

Jan Thomas, Acting Head teacher of Northview Primary School in Highworth, near Swindon, one of the schools that have borrowed the samples said: “What can and might be found out in space really captures children’s imaginations. Bringing the lunar samples into schools offers the children a unique chance to see and hold something that they would normally only see in a textbook and to learn about space in a fun and engaging way. We will definitely be borrowing the moon rocks again during the next school year.”

The lunar samples were collected during NASA’s manned space missions to the Moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During these missions the Apollo astronauts brought back to Earth 382 kilograms of lunar material. Most of this material is used by scientists to study the Moon, but NASA decided to use a small proportion of the rock and soil to develop lunar and planetary sciences educational packages. As well as loaning out the samples STFC also provides a teacher planning pack, support notes, resources and activities that can be used to make sure that pupils and teachers can get the most out of the experience.

Most of loan sets also include different types of meteorites, some stony, some almost pure metal, and one of which is a piece of Mars.

STFC Chief Executive, Professor Keith Mason said: “It’s incredible to think that our children and young people can handle pieces of rock that have travelled millions of miles to end up on Earth and in their school. Studying the pieces of Moon rock and meteorites brings the sci-fi world of space to life for children and can educate both them and us about the places they came from.”

Schools interested in finding out more about how they can apply for a short-term loan of STFC’s lunar samples can contact Jane Butt on 01793 442 030.

UPDATE: A telling comment from a colleague in teaching:-

"I wonder if that would help. Did you know that out of 80 ten year olds I asked, only one could tell me that my space shuttle model was some kind of spaceship!"

(Source: Odyssey Moon)

Mountain View, California & Douglas, Isle of Man – Google Lunar X PRIZE contender Odyssey Moon Limited announced today that top industry leaders Near Earth LLC, WPP Group, Aon and Milbank have joined its corporate team. Odyssey Moon intends to become the first private company to supply payload delivery services to the Moon in support of science, exploration and commerce. This is the first time such major organizations have come together to support a commercial Moon venture.

As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of “Moon 1.0” – mankind’s first but short lived activities on the lunar surface – Odyssey Moon is forging ahead with its plans to capitalize on commercial opportunities created by renewed interests in exploring the Moon – “Moon 2.0”.

Joining the Odyssey Moon venture is:

• Near Earth LLC: a leading investment bank specializing in satellite, media and telecom
• The Brand Union/WPP: one of the world's largest marketing and communications
companies
• Aon International Space Brokers: the leading global space risk advisor and provider of
space related insurance
• Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP: a leading global law firm experienced in
telecommunications and space

“This is a power house team, a dream team,” said Dr. Robert (Bob) Richards, Odyssey Moon’s CEO. “We are combining the very best from the global satellite industry with the very best of the space exploration community to make this company and its historic first mission a success.”

“Odyssey Moon’s team now includes world‐class leaders from the areas of finance, insurance, law, marketing, communications, advertising, and technology," said Odyssey Moon chairman Dr. Ramin Khadem. “Each of these are esteemed firms that have been highly successful in their own right and now for the first time they have come together to support our lunar venture.”

Continue reading press release...

Dr Charles Lurio profiles UK and European NewSpace efforts and his trip to the Royal Aeronautical Society meeting on Space Tourism in the latest issue of the Lurio Report.

Special Updates:

FALCON 1 MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW!

Travel Note - At New Space -’09, July 17-21

Quick Update:

Jurvetson’s Fundraising for SpaceX and ‘New Space’ Venture Capital

Washington, NASA and New Space:

COTS Stimulus Dollars in Limbo, Falcon’s Flight, Congress’s Perceptions

Dear Acquaintances,

- The UK, Europe and New Space -

Gaining a New Perspective
Conference Circumstances and Hopes in the UK
RAES Conference Structure and Overview
Space Adventures and XCOR
EADS Astrium and Virgin Galactic
Spaceports - Lossiemouth Speaks, Kiruna Strides (More Literally than You’d Think)
Insurance and Regulations - Will Europe’s Stasis be Broken by FAST20XX?
A ‘Concorde Effect’ and Private Spaceflight in the UK?
Overviews and Opportunities from Richard Garriott’s Visit to the ISS

For more details, and to purchase a subscription to the Lurio Report, the most scholarly and best-informed newsletter on commercial space development, see http://www.thelurioreport.com.

A tip of the hat to "Dre Ada" for pointing me towards Spaceman, the new blog on UK and European spaceflight by Jonathan Amos, BBC Science Correspondent. I've added the blog to the Rocketeers blogroll.

Jeff Foust posts an article on the UK astronaut awards ceremony at the British Interplanetary Society:

• The past and future of British human spaceflight -- The Space Review

These comments by Richard Garriott are particularly telling:-

Garriott added that, despite a long neglect of human spaceflight, the UK is not necessarily in a bad position vis-à-vis other nations. “While I believe that the UK has missed out on an era, I still believe that you’re not in a very bad position today to step back in,” he said, noting the relative lack of progress in human spaceflight in recent decades. “There’s a moment in history that’s coming right now that includes both government space as well as private space where I think the science and technology leadership that the UK has had… still leaves the UK in quite a strong position if there is the political will to decide to double-down, so to speak, on a human spaceflight program.”

Later, when asked whether the UK should pursue a human spaceflight effort with ESA or, like Canada and Japan, work more closely with NASA, Garriott offered a third option. “My honest advice might be, go build your own,” he said. “Private industry can move faster, move more safely, and most importantly, move more cost effectively.”

“Where we’re at today, I believe the rules have really changed,” he continued. Advances in computers, materials, and other technology have made it possible for private ventures to develop space systems for a fraction of the cost of government programs. “I am very bullish that the next 10 or 20 years are going to demonstrate that the cost of human access to space is going to radically drop.”

(Source: Scaled Composites)

Flight: 12
Date: 9 July 09
Flight Time: 4.5 hours
Pilot: Stucky Copilot: Siebold
FTE: None
Objectives:
ECS evaluation, 3rd Seat Evaluation, Performance, Landing gear envelope expansion.
Results:
All objectives completed. ECS shows exceptional cabin heating & cooling capability. 3rd seat adequate for test engineer duties. Gear extended out to 160 keas. Peak altitude for flight 51,000ft. Instrument approach & touch and go at Victorville.

woodtom: @lorddrayson so come clean, will we have a UK NASA?
lorddrayson: @woodtom Watch this Space. :-)

Rocketeer comments: As I think I've said before, I kind of have mixed feelings about this. In the sense that it shows an increased political priority for space policy, it's potentially a good thing, but I don't want to see another bloated bureaucratic monster like NASA. An agile, responsive agency working on key enabling technologies in the DARPA model would be better, I think.

I also don't want it to be called BNSC, because of the longtime confusion with the NSC in Leicester. I kind of like the name SEDA for Space Exploration and Development Agency -- because we'll go places, and build stuff when we get there.

UPDATE: Hyperbola suggests July 22nd as the date for the Great Unveiling:-

• Will 22 July become UK space agency day? -- Hyperbola

Congratulations to Elon Musk and the SpaceX team for the successful launch of the RazakSAT remote sensing satellite aboard Falcon 1 Flight 5.