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<\/p>\nA new space flight museum has been opened at a Lake District observatory.<\/p>\n
Britain’s first astronaut Helen Sharman visited Grizedale Observatory and Planetarium on Friday to officially open the John Dulcamara Space Flight Museum.<\/p>\n
The collection was donated by private collector John Dulcamara and includes a piece of the command module from the 1969 Apollo 11 – the first manned mission to land on the moon.<\/p>\n
Sharman said the collection was “extraordinary”.<\/p>\n
Grizedale Observatory near Ambleside, Cumbria, opened in May 2024, offering public access to telescopes, a planetarium and meteorite laboratory, as well as staging a dark skies festival and other events.<\/p>\n
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The collection includes a piece of the command module from the 1969 Apollo 11 space flight [Grizedale Observatory & Planetarium]<\/p>\n
Sharman, who became the first British person to visit space in 1991, said: “It’s an extraordinary collection. We’ve got bits of Apollo 11, bits from the Russian space programme – it’s just an amazing collection of artefacts from space flight history.<\/p>\n
“It tells its own story of space history, but also of the people that went and the items that were important to them.<\/p>\n
“For it to be on show now in this beautiful way, as part of Grizedale Observatory, what a coup for Cumbria.”<\/p>\n
The museum contains a variety of pieces ranging from autographed photos and signatures of prominent people in space flight to parts of actual space craft.<\/p>\n
Dulcamara said he first started collecting the artefacts after he attended a shuttle launch in 1996 and kept the ticket.<\/p>\n
“That’s what started my 30 year collection off,” he said. “There’s thousands of pieces on display, I hope people will come and have a look.”<\/p>\n
‘Failure not an option’<\/p>\n
Observatory director Gary Fildes said that the collection presented some “fascinating stories”.<\/p>\n
“John asked whether we would be interested in keeping his collection here at the observatory so other people could have the chance to see it. He brought a few samples along and we knew we had to make it happen.<\/p>\n
“We thought: ‘failure is not an option’!”<\/p>\n
During her visit, Sharman met with local schoolchildren to talk about her time aboard the Mir Space Station, where she carried out scientific experiments and observations of Earth.<\/p>\n
“To have Helen opening the museum is incredibly special,” Fildes said. “What makes this particularly important to us is the opportunity for local children to meet Helen.<\/p>\n
“You simply don’t know where an experience like that might lead.”<\/p>\n
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