Sir Arthur Clarke Award
The Sir Arthur Clarke Award is a British award given in recognition of notable contributions to space exploration, particularly British achievements. Founded in 2005, the awards are an annual event. They take place on the last day of the UK Space Conference, held annually at Charterhouse School. Nominations for the awards are made by members of the public, with shortlists drawn up by a panel of judges, who also choose the winner. The award was established with the permission of Arthur C. Clarke, who chose a special award independently of the public nominations prior to his death on 18 March 2008.
The award has the same proportions (1:4:9) as the monolith featured in Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and is made of glass. It features the diagram Clarke drew in 1945 in order to demonstrate how satellites can provide global communications around the Earth from geostationary orbit, also called the Clarke Orbit. It was co-designed by Jerry Stone and Howard Berry.
Not all categories are awarded each year; 2008 was the first year in which nominations were shortlisted in the category of Best Film Presentation. An additional award was given in 2007 and 2008 that was named after and presented by George Abbey, the former director of the Johnson Space Center. It was awarded to those "whose space achievement made us laugh the most".[1] The award ceremony is similar to the Oscars in that multiple awards are given in various categories at the same event, which is different from other awards given in the field. As a result the awards have been referred to as the Arthurs.[2] The awards are held in great esteem by the international Space community:
The Sir Arthur Clarke Awards are held in great esteem and it is a huge honour to have been nominated. It was a fantastic surprise when we heard the news and we are very flattered.
— Dr Andy Newsam, Director of the NSO, http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_93984.htm
This award is very nice... I thank all of you for this grand night and this grand award.
— Ray Bradbury, http://www.brianmay.com/brian/briannews/briannewsapr07b.html
2008 Winners
The 2008 Awards dinner was held on 29 March 2008. Special guests were George Abbey and Joe Engle.[citation needed]
| Category | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Best Corporate/Team Achievement | Mars Express Team; Project Manager Rudi Schmidt |
| Best Individual Achievement | Ian Taylor MP |
| Best Student Achievement | Alison Gibbings |
| Best Space Reporting | "Spaceflight" magazine; Editor Clive Simpson |
| Achievement in Education | Faulkes Telescope Project; Director Paul Roche |
| Inspiration Award | Piers Sellers |
| Best Presentation, Film | In the Shadow of the Moon; Director David Sington & Christopher Riley |
| Best Presentation, TV & Radio | Martin Redfern and Heather Couper: "Britain's Space Race" |
| Best Presentation, Written | David Baker: Jane's Spaceflight Directory |
| Outreach Award for the Public Promotion of Space | Maggie Aderin |
| Lifetime Achievement | Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd |
| George Abbey Award | A glass version of the award presented to two members of the Rocket Men team in replacement for the paper versions given the previous year (see 2007 Awards below/picture (right)). |
2007 winners
The 2007 Awards dinner was held on 14 April 2007.[citation needed]
| Category | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Best Corporate/Team Achievement | The Mars Exploration Rovers Team |
| Best Individual Achievement | Steve Squyres |
| Best Space Reporting | Robin Scagell |
| Achievement in Education | The International Space School Educational Trust |
| Inspiration Award | Sir Patrick Moore |
| Best Presentation, TV & Radio | The Sky At Night |
| Best Presentation, Written | Charles Cockell: Space on Earth |
| Outreach Award for the Public Promotion of Space | Lord Sainsbury |
| Lifetime Achievement | Eric "Winkle" Brown |
| Special Award | Ray Bradbury |
| George Abbey award[3] | The Rocket Men Team that made a Space Shuttle out of a Reliant Robin for the BBC TV series Top Gear[4] |
Among the other nominees were Anousheh Ansari, and the British-born astronaut Piers Sellers.
2006 winners
The 2006 Awards dinner was held on 8 April 2006.[5]
| Category | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Best Corporate/Team Achievement | The UK Huygens Industry Team |
| Best Individual Achievement | David Parker |
| Best Student Achievement | Sabrina Pottinger |
| Achievement in Education | Alex Blackwood |
| Inspiration Award | Michael Foale |
| Best Presentation, TV & Radio | Space Race |
| Best Presentation, Written | Alan Lawrie: Saturn |
| Outreach Award for the Public Promotion of Space | The PPARC Communication Team |
| Lifetime Achievement | Reginald Turnill |
Among the other nominees were Sir Richard Branson, and the Robson Green drama television series Rocket Man.
2005 winners
| Category | Recipient[citation needed] |
|---|---|
| Best Corporate Achievement | EADS Space |
| Best Individual Achievement | John Zarnecki |
| Best Student Achievement | Julia Tizard |
| Best Space Reporting | David Whitehouse |
| Achievement in Education | National Space Centre |
| Inspiration Award | George Scoon |
| Best Presentation, TV & Radio | Christopher Riley, producer: Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets |
| Best Presentation, Written | David A. Hardy and Patrick Moore: Futures—50 Years in Space |
| Outreach Award for the Public Promotion of Space | Colin Pillinger |
| Special Award | British Interplanetary Society |
Sir Arthur was also presented with a special award commemorating the 60th anniversary of his paper on global communication by satellite in the October 1945 edition of Wireless World. This award was accepted on behalf of Sir Arthur by his brother Fred.
See also
References
- ^ "Latest Bang! News". Bang!. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ Radford, Tim (24 March 2005). "Who's up for an Arthur?". The Guardian.
- ^ Following a presentation by the Rocket Men Team about their activities, the day before the awards ceremony, George Abbey felt that they deserved an award. As there was not enough time to have a glass award made and etched, a paper version was made.
- ^ "Top Gear Production notes: Reliant Robin - space shuttle". BBC. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ "2006 Sir Arthur Clarke Award Winners Announced". British National Space Centre. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-09.