posted 06-10-2013 09:43 AM               

Andy was a great friend and colleague who cooperated on a number of ventures with Astro Info Service (AIS) and was co-author of "Marswalk One: First Steps on a New Planet" (Springer-Verlag) in 2005. He also worked on the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) publications on Mir and ISS and was the driving force in creating the Midland Space Society in the late 1980s.

Andy was passionate about space and enthusiastic in his presentations and writing. He was a fantastic source of information regarding the science angle on any mission and was always at the forefront in promoting space to the general public and encouraging the younger generation to take up astronomy and science.

I first met Andy in May 1985, at a presentation by astronaut Jeff Hoffman in Birmingham, just one month after his flight on STS-51D. As Andy lived only a couple of miles from me, we shared many an hour over the next three decades sharing our research findings and mutual interest in space exploration.

Compiler and publisher of the informative Astronautics News newsletter he was eager to create a space enthusiast's group in the midland region of the UK. As a result both of us together with Dave Evetts, Mike Bryce, Rob Wood, George Spiteri and others created the Midland Space Society and its publication 'Capcom'. Despite his illness Andy remained committed to the MSS as long as he was able.

In 1991 we shared an eventful and rewarding research trip to NASA JSC in Houston, and often reflected on our adventures during that time. Andy was a true space sleuth in researching aspects of the Soviet and Russian space programmes and often contributed to the BIS Spaceflight magazine and other publications. He was also the science correspondent for the AIS publications ZENIT and ORBITER between 1985 and 1992 and was a great source of information for many of my subsequent writing projects.

posted 06-23-2013 03:41 PM               

I will remember him best for the time he freely gave for two years with our U.K. Young Astronaut club in Walsall and with our regular newsletter with the 'Ask Andy?' feature.

Above - the U.K Young Astronaut float in the Pelsall Carnival (Andy, black shirt standing on the right) happy days. Note the large rocket to the left of the picture borrowed (with permission) from someone's front garden.

All of the children on the float were either young astronauts, space suited astronauts, robots or aliens.