Association in Scotland to Research into Astronautics
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| Founded | 1963 |
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| Founder | Oscar Schwiglhofer |
| Type | Charitable organization |
| Focus | Space and Science Education |
| Location |
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| Mission | "to promote the advancement of knowledge and the spread of education and particularly the dissemination of knowledge on space activities and all branches of science pertaining to such activities, and to stimulate public interest therein" |
| Website | astraglasgow.com |
The Association in Scotland To Research into Astronautics (ASTRA), is a membership-based society that concerns itself with all matters related to space research. Its current center of operations is in the Scottish city of Glasgow and it is affiliated to a number of other bodies, including the Federation of Astronomical Societies and the Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector.
Through a process that was undertaken in 1976, ASTRA is now registered as a charitable company, with limit by guarantee (registration number SC005527), and it was at that time that Companies House forced the society to change its name.
ASTRA holds meetings, events, and guest lectures at its Glasgow base at the Ogilvie Center, and also involves itself with events in other parts of the country. The society's members meet bi-monthly and meetings are held on the first and third Monday.
ASTRA's aim, as stated in Article 3, of their Memorandum of Association is "to promote the advancement of knowledge and the spread of education and particularly the dissemination of knowledge on space activities and all branches of science pertaining to such activities, and to stimulate public interest therein". This aim is distilled on the official ASTRA website, where the society states, on its "About ASTRA" page, that it has two objectives:
In 2006 the UK National Lottery agreed to sponsor an ASTRA outreach project that sought to engage schools, or any public body, for 3 months on the subject of astronomy, at no cost to the recipient. ASTRA utilized the Scottish curriculum as a framework for the educational project and focused on the concept of "Earth & Space". The project was accessed by a large number of primary schools in North Lanarkshire and The National Lottery re-funded the initiative the following year in 2007.
The Waverider re-entry vehicle, based on the Blue Streak missile, was devised by Professor Terence Nonweiler of Queen's University Belfast, and was intended to be the manned spacecraft in the British space programme. The programme was cancelled by the Macmillan government, but the work on Waverider continued at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough — mainly to establish Waverider's potential as a Mach 6 airliner. During this period (1960–1965) at least one Waverider was tested at the Woomera Test Range. There were rumours that free-flight tests were also conducted at this time. Tests of X and Y-winged projectiles (in effect, three or four Waveriders mounted back-to-back) related to the Waverider were performed at NASA's Ames Research Center.
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