Martlet

A martlet in English heraldry is a heraldic charge depicting a stylized bird similar to a house martin or swallow, though missing feet. It should be distinguished from the merlette of French heraldry, which is a duck-like bird with a swan-neck and chopped-off beak and legs.

Etymology

The word "martlet" is derived from the bird known as the martin, with the addition of the diminutive suffix "-let"; thus martlet means "little martin". The origin of the name martin is obscure, though it may refer to the festival Martinmas, which occurs around the same time martins begin their migration from Europe to Africa.

Description

These heraldic birds are shown properly in English heraldry with two or three short tufts of feathers in place of legs and feet. Swifts, formerly known as martlets, have such small legs that anciently they were believed to have none at all.

French Merlette

Martlet (disambiguation)

Martlet is an English heraldic charge depicting a stylized bird of the swallow family.

Martlet may also refer to:

CU Spaceflight

CU Spaceflight is a student-run Cambridge University society founded with the aim of achieving cheap access to space. It is supported by the Cambridge-MIT Institute.

History

The project was founded in the summer of 2006, with the specific goal of launching a rocket into space for less than GBP£1000.

As of November, 2007, CU Spaceflight has launched five unmanned high altitude balloons, of which two were not successful: Nova 2 was blown into the North Sea and Nova 5 failed to ignite the Martlet 1 solid rocket motor, but landed in a reusable state.

CU Spaceflight is a participant of the UK High Altitude Society.

Owlstone Photography Prize

On 27 June 2007, CU Spaceflight won the Owlstone Photography Prize, having submitted an unenhanced photograph from the Nova 1 flight, displaying the curvature of the Earth as seen from Near space. The entry was entitled "Earth from 32km". CU Spaceflight won a cash prize and 25-hours of workshop time.

Projects

As of 2007, Cambridge University Spaceflight has three projects which it is pursuing; all three are critical to the long-term goal of successfully launching a rocket into space and retrieving it.