BBC's Jodrell Bank documentary launches 70th anniversary celebrations
11 Nov 2015
On Monday, 16 November (9pm), BBC Four tells the story of Sir Bernard Lovell, Jodrell Bank and the space race
As the 70th anniversary of Sir Bernard Lovell's arrival at Jodrell Bank approaches, this timely documentary tells "the unlikely story of how one man with some ex-WWII army equipment eventually turned a muddy field in Cheshire into a key site in the space race".
The latest episode in BBC Four's Timeshift series explores how the Lovell Telescope was used at the height of the Cold War by both the Americans and the Russians to track their competing spacecraft.
It also tells how Jodrell Bank put Britain at the forefront of radio astronomy, a new science which transformed our knowledge of space and provided the key to understanding the most mind-bending theory of the beginnings of the universe - the Big Bang.
The programme will be available on iPlayer shortly after broadcast:
December sees the launch of '70 Years of Jodrell Bank', a year-long celebration of the anniversary. It begins with a lecture by Professor Tim O'Brien on Jodrell Bank, the Dawn of the Space Age and the Birth of Radio Astronomy on 14 December, the day when Sir Bernard switched on his radar equipment at Jodrell Bank.
Tickets for the lecture have sold out, but some additional tickets may be released in due course. If you would like to add your name to the reserve list, please email:
Also opening in December is the public fundraising appeal for the Heritage Lottery Fund's 'First Light at Jodrell Bank' project. This will support work on the historic ‘South Side’ of the site, where the key scientific developments took place in the early days of radio astronomy, and create a spectacular new gallery, in which visitors will be able to engage with the stories of the amazing scientists and engineers who have worked at Jodrell Bank over the years.
Further information