Arthur Dodd Code (August 13, 1923 – March 11, 2009) was an astronomer who designed orbiting observatories. Code served as an electronics technician in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Arthur Code was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and developed an early interest in astronomy when he was young. After military service, Code received a master's degree and doctorate in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

(without having received a bachelor's degree) advised by

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; 19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian Americans, Indian-American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to the scientific knowledge about the structure of stars, stellar evolution and ...

. He spent the majority of his career at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, where he was also director of the Washburn Observatory. He had previously taught at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. Code was one of the leaders of the OAO-2 project, an orbiting satellite that had light sensors,

spectrometers A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure Spectrum, spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomeno ...

, and various other radiation detectors. Data from OAO-2 demonstrated that young stars were hotter than previously believed, and also showed the existence of ozone in Mars's atmosphere. OAO-2 continued to operate until 1973 and supported Dr. Code's contention, stating “a fully automated observatory like this is a good idea; we know it works.” Code did a number of projects for NASA throughout the years, with himself claiming that he has been involved in "Space Astronomy" since the formation of the governmental space organization. Code was a transformative figure in astronomical physics. In a biography published by the Harvard Square Library, Code says, "The thread that runs through all this research is the development of instruments that would provide quantitative measurements that could confirm or rule out theoretical predictions on the structure, formation, and evolution of stars, and to study the connection with other galaxies of stars and the space between the stars." He was the founding director of the

Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...

. The Space Telescope Science Institute was founded in 1982 and has helped guide the most famous space telescope in history, the Hubble Space Telescope. The cause of Code's death was from complications of a lung condition. He was survived by his wife of sixty-six years, Mary Ella Guild Code. He had four children: Alan Code, Douglas Code, Edith Code, and David Code; and six grandchildren.

References

External links

Oral History interview transcript with Arthur Code on 30 September 1982, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
- Session I
Oral History interview transcript with Arthur Code on 1 October 1982, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
- Session II * https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/science/space/23code.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Code, Arthur 1923 births 2009 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of World War II