British astronaut Tim Peake’s Soyuz TMA-19M is touring the UK, presented by Samsung and the Science Museum Group, and the spacecraft could touch down at The Forum, Norwich if it wins a national competition.

The Soyuz capsule will go on public display at eight venues across the UK, enhanced by Space Descent VR – a unique virtual reality adventure using Samsung Gear VR technology which places visitors right at the heart of Tim Peake’s journey from the International Space Station back to Earth.

Today it was announced that The Forum is one of five shortlisted venues in the competition to host the spaceship and virtual reality adventure. If successful, the Soyuz capsule will be the centrepiece of Norwich Science Festival 2018, which takes place during October half-term.

The Science Museum Group, which acquired the capsule Soyuz TMA-19M in 2016, and global technology innovators Samsung, have joined forces to create The National Tour of Tim Peake’s Spacecraft and Space Descent VR. The Soyuz spacecraft was used for Tim Peake’s Principia mission, and this ‘first-of-its-kind’ national tour aims to inspire future generations of space scientists across the country. Space Descent VR, the stunning virtual reality journey voiced by Tim Peake himself, will accompany the touring exhibition and enable people all over the UK to experience in first-person the high-speed descent to Earth from the International Space Station.

Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum Group, said: “This is the first time the Science Museum Group has toured one of its objects around the country, and what better object than the craft that brought Tim Peake safely back from space?”

Natalie Bailey, producer of Norwich Science Festival, said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted to host this inspiring part of space history. The tour fits perfectly with the aims of the Festival and The Forum to engage and inspire young people in order to develop further interests in science. Fingers crossed!”

The winning venue will be announced in March 2018, after consideration by a panel including Science Museum Group Director Ian Blatchford, the UK Space Agency’s Human Spaceflight Manager Libby Jackson, Samsung’s James Eadie, and Magali Vaissiere, Director of the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications. Tim Peake’s spacecraft – complete with its 25-metre parachute – is free to visit at all venues on the tour.

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Soyuz capsule competition – statement from Norwich Science Festival and The Forum

The competition to host Tim Peake’s Soyuz capsule has been won by Peterborough Cathedral. The Forum and Norwich Science Festival were one of the five shortlisted venues in the competition run by the Science Museum Group.

Natalie Bailey, Norwich Science Festival producer, said: “A huge thank you to everyone who backed our competition bid. We’ve been overwhelmed by the support shown by individuals, organisations and businesses, who rallied round on social media to demonstrate Norwich’s love of science and their excitement at the possibility of the capsule touching down here.”

“The Forum, as a community building, would have been an amazing venue to show off this unique piece of space history, and having the spacecraft here would have been a fantastic way to engage people with science during the Festival. However, we’ll still have a brilliant Norwich Science Festival programme lined up for 19-27 October, including great astronomy and space events, so make sure the dates are in your diaries, and look out for headline events announced in the summer. Congratulations to Peterborough Cathedral, and I’m sure we’ll be visiting!”

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For more information on the national tour of Soyuz TMA-19M, please contact Simon Thompson, PR Manager, Science Museum, on 020 7942 4357 or [email protected].

For more information on Norwich Science Festival, please contact Jan Robertson, Norwich Science Festival Marketing Manager on [email protected] / 01603 727962.

 

Tour dates

National Railway Museum, York 17 January – 8 March 2018
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester 10 March – 13 May 2018
National Museum Scotland, Edinburgh May – August 2018
Competition winner venue TBC
National Museum Wales, Cardiff November 2018 – January 2019
National Museum Ulster, Belfast February – May 2019

 

About the Soyuz TMA-19M descent module

Soyuz TMA-19M carried astronauts Yuri Malenchenko (Commander, Russia), Tim Kopra (Flight Engineer, USA) and Tim Peake (Flight Engineer, UK) to the International Space Station on 15 December 2015 and returned the same crew to Earth on 18 June 2016.
The crew was part of Expeditions 46 and 47 to the International Space Station.
The outer surfaces have been charred by temperatures of around 1,500 degrees Celsius experienced during atmospheric re-entry.
The module weighs approximately 1.5 tonnes.

 

About the Science Museum

As the home of human ingenuity, the Science Museum’s world-class collection forms an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical achievements from across the globe. Welcoming over 3 million visitors a year, the Museum aims to make sense of the science that shapes our lives, inspiring visitors with iconic objects, award-winning exhibitions and incredible stories of scientific achievement. More information can be found at sciencemuseum.org.uk

 

About the Norwich Science Festival

Celebrate the wonderful world of experiments, discoveries, exploration and innovation at Norwich Science Festival this October. Enjoy inspirational exhibitions, hands-on family activities, inspiring celebrity talks and sensational shows at The Forum, and at other venues around the city. This is a festival for all age groups and all levels of knowledge. norwichsciencefestival.co.uk

 

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com/uk.