Arthur C. Clarke

Date of birth: December 16, 1917
Place of birth: Minehead, Somerset, England

Arthur C. Clarke moved to London in 1936, there he joined the British Interplanetary Society (which he presided from 1946 - 1947 and from 1950 - 1953). There he started to experiment with astronomic material.

During World War II, Clarke served as a RAF officer in charge of the first radar "talk-down" equipment during its experimental trials. His only non science fiction work "Glide Path" is based on his experiences in WWII.

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In 1945 he published the technical paper "Extra - Terrestrial Relays", which layed down the principles of satellite communications on geostationary orbits. These principles gave him numerous honors, like the Marconi International Fellowship in 1982, a Fellowship at King's College (London), a gold medal from the Franklin Institute, among others. Today, the geostationary orbit at 42,000 Km. is named the Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.

 

Glide Path

Arthur C. Clarke book, Glide Path: To The Heart of Experimental Technology..In WWII!. It shows the start of early radar and some interpersonal conflicts and relationships at his 1st RAF posting.

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"Extra - Terrestrial Relays"

Hello friends,

If anybody is interested in the Arthur C. Clarke article "Extra - Terrestrial Relays" as published in the October 1945 edition of Wireless World, please pm me.
I can arrange for it to be sent to an email address of your choice as either a Word document or in .pdf format.

Regards, Brian