Eric Burgess (1920 – March 2005) was an English freelance consultant, lecturer and journalist, who wrote about the

Pioneer program The Pioneer programs were two series of United States lunar and planetary space probes exploration. The first program, which ran from 1958 to 1960, unsuccessfully attempted to send spacecraft to orbit the Moon, successfully sent one spacecraft to ...

of space missions since the first tests in 1957. He was the science correspondent of the ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

'' in the period of many of the planetary probe launches, and was often the senior science reporter present at many of those events. Burgess is credited with the original idea that the Pioneer probes should carry a message for extraterrestrial intelligences. He approached

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...

about his idea, which eventually resulted in the

Pioneer plaque The Pioneer plaques are a pair of gold-anodized aluminum plaques that were placed on board the 1972 ''Pioneer 10'' and 1973 ''Pioneer 11'' spacecraft, featuring a pictorial message, in case either ''Pioneer 10'' or ''11'' is intercepted by inte ...

. Burgess was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

and

British Interplanetary Society The British Interplanetary Society (BIS), founded in Liverpool in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest existing space advocacy organisation in the world. Its aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration. Stru ...

, and an associate fellow of the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

. Burgess and

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

were both charter members of the British Interplanetary Society and lifelong friends. While Clarke claimed he invented the idea of using three satellites in geostationary orbit to create the global communication relay in common use today (see: book dust jacket front fold over sleeve of ''The Exploration of Space'', A.C. Clarke, Harper Bros., 1951), Burgess claimed to have given the idea to Clarke in the late 1940s. Shortly before his death Burgess had a large collection of film and printed media on the subject of rocketry and space exploration that may have been donated by his heirs to a local library. Perhaps his greatest contribution other than the claim of having the idea for geosynchronous satellite communication networks (disputed with characteristic droll humor by Clarke) was his chronicling of the initial exploration of the solar system (see: bibliography). He was also the science adviser for the James Bond film '' Moonraker'' which received an Academy Award nomination for its visuals which Burgess helped edit for accuracy.

Bibliography

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References

* * http://astrotalkuk.org/2012/03/27/episode-50-26th-march-2012-manchester-first-rocket-scientists/ ;Specific 1920 births 2005 deaths 20th-century British astronomers {{UK-astronomer-stub