UK professor wins Lifetime Achievement Award

Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, chairman of UK space exploration company Surrey Satellite Technology, has won the 2008 Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award.

Flying high. Professor Sir Martin Sweeting has won the Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award

The ‘Arthurs’ - the space industry’s awards - pay tribute to those who have worked for the advancement of space exploration. Sir Martin, knighted in 2002, is recognised across the world for his pioneering development of small satellites which use low-cost engineering techniques.

Sir Martinsaid: “It is a great honour to receive this award and especially in the month during which Sir Arthur sadly passed away. As a teenager, I was captivated by Sir Arthur’s books and particularly the film 2001: A space odyssey which inspired me to strive for a career in space.”

SSTL, formed by the University of Surrey in 1985 to exploit the commercial small satellite market, has launched 27 small satellite missions for a range of applications including Earth observation, communication and navigation. Today, SSTL are the world’s premier small satellite supplier, employing 270 staff across three sites in the south-east of England. The company achieved a £26 million turnover last year and are currently building a further 14 spacecraft at their manufacturing facilities in Guildford.

The awards were presented at a black-tie dinner which closed the 2008 UK Space Conference at Charterhouse. The occasion was attended by many of the top names in the space community, including Joe Engle, Astronaut & X-15 Test Pilot with NASA, David Southwood, Director of Science, European Space Agency and Sir Patrick Moore made a video appearance.

Nominations for awards are submitted by the public and the winners were voted for by representatives of the space industry, research institutions and universities, and space-related organisations.

This year’s awards were a poignant celebration of the life of Sir Arthur, who died on 18 March in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, at the age of 90.