PR/11/08
EUTELSAT COMMUNICATIONS PAYS TRIBUTE TO SIR ARTHUR C. CLARKE
‘FATHER OF THE GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT’
Paris, 19 March 2008
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) pays tribute to Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the
writer and scientist whose expertise and imagination ushered in the age of satellite
communications and who died today in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
It was Sir Arthur C. Clarke's article published in the British Journal 'Wireless World' in
October 1945 that mapped out the potential of the geostationary orbit for satellite
communications. Clarke's theory was that at an altitude of 36,000 km above the earth a
satellite would make one revolution every 24 hours; i.e., that it would remain stationary above
the same spot. Today, over 300 satellites are located in the 'Clarke Belt', providing
broadcasting, broadband and telecommunications services around the world and forming a
vital component of the Information Society.
Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat Communications CEO said: "Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s departure is a
sad day for all satellite operators, and also for me personally. I was a great admirer of his
science-fiction work at an early age, and even more so later in my professional life working in
telecommunications and television satellites. I was regularly in contact with him, and in 2000
Eutelsat dedicated to him our SESAT1 satellite which is the nearest in longitude from his
home in Sri Lanka. As recently as February this year Eutelsat sent a film crew to interview
him in what may be his last interview."