Another titan has departed the science fiction world. Arthur C. Clarke, author of more than 30 novels and inventor of the geostationary communications satellite, passed away earlier today at his home in Sri Lanka. As hard science fiction goes, there were none greater than Clarke, and his vision and tireless advocacy for human exploration and utilization of space may well be as important as any of his contributions to fiction.
Among his many awards and recognitions, he was one of only two dozen SFWA Grand Masters, a Knight Bachelor, and a Commander of the British Empire. He also had an asteroid and a dinosaur named after him, and an Apollo command module named after one of his fictional spacecraft (Odyssey).
