Arthur Code

Who was Arthur Code?

Arthur Dodd Code was an astronomer who designed orbiting observatories.

Code served as an electronics technician in the Navy during World War II.

After military service, Code received a master's degree and doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Chicago. He spent the majority of his career at the University of Wisconsin, where he was also director of the Washburn Observatory. He had previously taught at the University of Virginia and the California Institute of Technology.

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

He was the founding director of the Space Telescope Science Institute.