Police to escort space station to new home

The Almaz-206 will get a police escort as it's taken from Balthane Industrial Estate to the Motor Museum in Jurby.

Police said the heavy load convoy travel through Ballasalla, Castletown, Foxdale, Ballacraine to Ballaugh via the TT Course, then Ballaugh to Jurby via the A10 Coast Road.

The Russian Space station is to go on display this week, alongside another space station, at the Motor Museum in Jurby.

The craft is owned by Isle of Man-based space company, Excalibur Almaz, and was designed to take three people into space.

After a number of launches the space programme was cancelled in the early 1990s.

Almaz-206 has been in storage since the 1990s but will now go on display "to encourage interest in space and science".

Director of the Isle of Man Motor Museum, Darren Cunningham said the craft played a vital part in furthering our ability to live and work in space.

"We're excited to have the space station join the VA capsule currently on display in the Museum to enable us to fully tell the story of this under-appreciated programme," he added.