Did Scotland ever have its own top-secret space programme? Did the project succeed in sending a man into space, even if it couldn’t bring him back? And if not, then why not? Seeking answers to these questions has revealed an extraordinary tale of forgotten achievements and establishment cover-up.

Alba ad Astra is a collaborative thought experiment celebrating Scotland's industrial and technological past and speculating about the potential of Scots as explorers of outer space. It began with an exhibition of photographs and artifacts in August 2009 and has since inspired several short stories and "research documents". Tonight we launch the publication of the revised Alba ad Astra anthology, which brings all of these writings together with the original portfolio and additional photographs.

Join Ken MacLeod, Andrew J. Wilson, Pippa Goldschmidt, Gavin Inglis, Kirsti Wishart, Andrew C. Ferguson and Fergus Currie as they assist Madeleine Shepherd's photographic investigation of ambiguous evidence from Scotland's industrial archaeology.

Alba ad Astra is published by Shoreline of Infinity with generous sponsorship from Transreal Fiction.

About the event:

Running time: 90 minutes

Tickets: FREE / £3 / £5 (plus 50p booking fee)

The event will be live on Zoom.