As well as our dedicated committee activities, we are also a team that likes to have a lot of fun. Here are just a few examples of some of the unusual things we have done along the way which we term X-Projects. We are always open to new ideas.
Heading for the Stratosphere
During 2014 and 2015 two high altitude sounding balloon flights were conducted into the upper stratosphere. These were done in conjunction with the company Nebula Sciences Ltd. The first was conducted on 11 January 2015, launched from Northern Ireland, and reached an altitude of 88,999 ft. The second was conducted on 25 June 2016, launched from Hampshire, UK, and reached an altitude of 90,371 ft. The second flight also caught the moon in the background.
Building a World Record Monolith?
For the 2014 World Science Fiction Convention in London, Loncon3, our team constructed a 4 m tall monolith as depicted in the Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick film creation "2001 A Space Odyssey". We are not quite sure, but we think this may be a world record for the largest one built. During the convention we projected filmography onto the surface of the monolith to the delight of people visiting our stand.
Sponsoring the Project Daedalus Starship Model
For several years, one of our team members Terry Regan, worked very hard to construct a modern scaled model of the British Interplanetary Society 1970s Project Daedalus Starship model. This was sponsored by the Initiative for Interstellar Studies as a gift to the BIS for inspiring the world with their interstellar studies projects over the years. The model now sits proudly at the BIS HQ in London for all to see.
