R.I.P. Arthur C. Clarke

If you have enjoyed virtually any science fiction, you owe a huge debt to Arthur C. Clarke, one of the pioneers of the genre. The author of 2001, 2010, Childhood's End, and many many more novels and short stories has died at age 90. He was also one of the few science fiction authors to have done some real science.

In 1945, a UK periodical magazine “Wireless World” published his landmark technical paper "Extra-terrestrial Relays" in which he first set out the principles of satellite communication with satellites in geostationary orbits - a speculation realised 25 years later. During the evolution of his discovery, he worked with scientists and engineers in the USA in the development of spacecraft and launch systems, and addressed the United Nations during their deliberations on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Today, the geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometres above the Equator is named The Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.

The world will miss this visionary.