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40TH ANNIVERSARY OF MOON LANDING

Next week, the US will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, when astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered the first words spoken - "Houston. Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Outer space has fascinated mankind for centuries and Americans are rightfully celebrating this momentous anniversary with special events and commemorations.

However, less is known about the British space programme and the fact that in the 1960's, the Isle of Wight's Needles Old Battery was used as a testing site for The Blue Streak, which launched Britain's first and only self-launch satellite.

The Batteries and the surrounding area were acquired by the National Trust in 1975 and in 2006 the National Trust opened a small exhibition in some of the former underground rooms at the Highdown site, now known again as it was before the rocket programme, as the Needles New Battery. The official opening co-incided with the 50th anniversary of the first static test firing at the site and was attended by some of the former rocket men who used to work there. The exhibition contains a life sized model of Prospero and also a film including extracts from the BBC Coast programme filmed at the New Battery in 2004 when they made contact with the satellite to show it was still transmitting.

The exhibition is free to enter and as such, is usually manned by volunteers which limits the days is can be open. However this year it is open Saturdays and Sundays until 1st November from 11am - 4pm and in fact most other days, although we advise phoning first to check if you are making a special journey (01983) 754772. Although open since 2006, this year is the first time the National Trust has had the means to count the number of visitors to the exhibition (as there are no tickets sold) and already, since March 14th 2009, over 20,000 people have seen it.

So if you are on the Island, do make a point of visiting. For more information on the High Down Rocket Test site, please visit: www.theneedlesbattery.org.uk/rocket.shtml