Kettering Group Memo: GP8901

Kettering Group Memo: GP8901

Kettering Group memo transcribing the presentation to Geoffrey Perry of the honourary degree of Master of the Open University. It was awarded at the Degree Congregation of the Open University on the 6 May 1989. The transcription includes a eulogy by Dr Robert Lambourne, the head of the University’s Physics and Astronomy Department, as well as Perry’s acceptance speech.

Perry had worked with Derek Slater tracking Soviet space activity with basic equipment at the Kettering Grammar School, using students to assist them. During the course of tracking Cosmos 112 and Cosmos 129, Perry discovered that these two satellites had been launched somewhere other than the previously used Baikonur Cosmodrome. He managed to pinpoint the location to the south of Archangel at Plesetsk and revealed this information through two letters he sent to the UK magazine Flight International. Despite this fact, when the CIA vetted Charles Sheldon's 1967 U.S. Government report they asked him to remove references to Plesetsk due to its classification as ‘Secret’. In response to this Sheldon tipped off the Washington Post about the existence of Perry’s letters to Flight International, which lead to Perry and the Kettering Grammar School’s discovery becoming a global news story. This allowed Sheldon to publish the details of Plesetsk in his 1967 report and Perry received international acclaim as a result. By 1989, when he was awarded the honourary degree, amongst his many commitments he was working as a consultant and contributor on U.S. Government reports into Soviet space activity.

The Kettering Grammar School Group evolved over time to include non-students and international contributors, subsequently becoming known as the Kettering Satellite Tracking Group. It continued to be led by Perry and this internal memo allowed other members to read the speech he gave on receipt of his honourary degree, in which he recognised the contribution made by the Group’s members towards his own achievements and accolades.