Terry Ransome Email and Phone Number

In mid 2015 I moved back to the Bristol area, to be close to the four grandchildren. Currently (still) using a wide range of outlets for my enthusiasm to pass on years' of acquired knowledge in the aerospace industry, especially spacecraft assembly, test and verification - coupled with more years of voluntary work with museums. It's all about lifelong learning and passing it on to others! I can talk to any group on the topics of the history of elementary education and on spacecraft and satellites. Specifically these include: Getting the UK's Beagle2 lander onto the surface of Mars, Yuri Gagarin and the Chief Designer, Joseph Lancaster and the British Schools Movement, and An illustrated History of Filton (Bristol) in space (over 60 spacecraft launched). Take a look at the link to a 'speakers' website' https://www.publicspeakerscorner.co.uk/terry-ransome/ for more information.Talks can be customised to audiences from primary school to retirees.

While 'spacecraft and rockets' was my career, it's now still spacecraft and rockets but now also Museums for my retirement!Although I retain several links with the British Schools Museum and am a member if the Hitchin British Schools Trust, I am currently a Trustee of the Association of Friends of the British Schools museum, an independentRegistered Charity dedicated to spoorting the museum. I co-edit the Friends' magazine 'School Report'.

I have been, and still am, a Volunteer with several roles involved in the setting up of 'Aerospace Bristol' Museum at Filton, Bristol, to celebrate the history, since 1910, of aerospace engineering at Filton. In March 2016 I completed the assembly of a full-size UK Skylark Scientific Research rocket, now on public display. Currently a Collections Research Volunteer and Archive volunteer.

After retiring I developed a number of talks on the history of education and on my experiences working with spacecraft. I regularly deliver these talks to clubs and societies - for all ages (schools included).For 25 years I also lectured occasionally for the University of Southampton on "Spacecraft Integration and Test". I have delivered this lecture on University courses in Netherlands, Spain and Germany, as well as the university and industrial premises in UK.

After a few years volunteering as a Museum guide and historical researcher, I became a Trustee of the Hitchin British Schools Trust (11 years), and undertook the Museum Manager role for 3 years. My work included management of 6 staff and around 150 volunteers; I led the application for Museum Accreditation in 2008 (succesful!), and applied for and won several funding bids for improvements and repairs to the Grade 2* listed buildings and for the educational programmes on offer to schools and the public.

Transferring from Matra Marconi Space, Bristol, I took on the role of Assembly, Integration and Verification / Test Manager for the UK Beagle2 Mars Probe at Stevenage; responsible for the test and verification programme, and then I leading the Beagle launch site activities within the launch campaign (2003) for the European Space Agency's Mars Express, that carried Beagle 2 to Mars - where it made a successful landing. Another name change came during my time here - Matra Marconi became Astrium UK (and later, Airbus Space and Defence)!That done, I retired from paid employment (early!) in 2003.

Back with British Aerospace I was Head of Electrical Test (Space) for a while, engaged in system studies, planning and costing for the European Columbus programme - which resulted in the Columbus Space Shuttle 'laboratory' payload and the Envisat spacecraft. I was then the AIV lead in numerous project definition studies for many scientific spacecraft, Latterly, I was also AIT Resources Manager - for personnel, equipment and facilities planning at the same time continuing as AIT New programmes manager.Matra Marconi Space aquired BAe's space division during this time (1994).

A great experience! Starting in April 1981 in Denver, Colorado, with Martin Marietta Aerospace, I was initially working on interface documentation between the US / NASA Space Shuttle and military payloads. Then moved to New Orleans (October 1981) in 'Test Requirements', part of the team ensuring tests on the Space Shuttle External Tank were carried out correctly, investigating anomalies and authorising repair and recovery / retest actions.

Working with Skylark Scientific Research Rocket, GEOS 1 and GEOS 2 spacecraft, Hubble Space Telescope (European components) and others. Assembly and test, including periods at the Woomera launch site, Australia, the European Space Agency's test facilities, Netherlands, and two GEOS launches at Cape Canaveral, USA.