Tech Visionary Arthur C. Clarke Dies at 90
The science fiction writer and inventor forecast technology in place today.
Science fiction writer, inventor, scuba diver, and visionary Sir Arthur C. Clarke died Tuesday at his home on the island nation of Sri Lanka at the age of 90.
Clarke was best known in popular culture as the author of the story that inspired Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” but his greatest contribution to technology is creating the conceptual framework for geostationary satellites — machines that would remain in the same spot above the earth and act as relay stations for signals from the ground, covering a wide area. He published a paper about the concept in 1945, which was ultimately realized two decades later. The orbit into which geostationary satellites are placed is now known as the Clarke Orbit.
The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation confirmed Clarke’s death on its Web site Tuesday. He died of respiratory problems, according to media reports…more