Harry Elliot facts for kids

Henry Elliot (born June 28, 1920 – died July 5, 2009) was a British scientist who studied space. He was also a professor of physics at the University of London. People often called him Harry.

Henry Elliot's Life Story

Harry Elliot was born in Mealsgate, a small place near Wigton, Cumberland. His father, Thomas, was a farmer. His mother, Hannah Elizabeth, passed away when Harry was young, in 1928. His two older sisters helped raise him.

When he was in secondary school, Harry became very interested in chemistry and, even more, in physics. In 1938, he went to the Victoria University of Manchester. The physics department there was led by a famous scientist, Patrick Blackett.

Harry was a brilliant student. He finished at the very top of his class in 1941. He was promised a special scholarship to continue his studies after World War II ended.

Serving in the Royal Air Force

During the war, Elliot joined the Royal Air Force (RAF). He really wanted to be part of RAF Coastal Command, which was a special unit. After his training, he was sent to Devon.

In Devon, Coastal Command's job was to hunt for enemy U-boats (submarines) in the Western Approaches and the Bay of Biscay. Harry worked as a liaison officer at Dunkeswell Aerodrome. This meant he helped connect the RAF with the US Air Force and later the US Navy.

Return to Science and Space

In 1946, after the war, Harry went back to Manchester to use his scholarship. He mainly studied how cosmic rays changed over time. Cosmic rays are tiny, super-fast particles that come from space. He measured them both on the ground and from special devices carried by aircraft.

In 1952, he wrote an important article summarizing what he had learned about cosmic ray changes. The next year, his former professor, Patrick Blackett, invited him to join him at Imperial College London.

They both took part in the International Geophysical Year. This was a big science project that actually lasted 18 months, from July 1957 to December 1958.

The Start of the Space Age

The 1950s marked the beginning of the space age. In 1957, the USSR launched the first Earth satellite. After this, a group called the International Council of Scientific Unions created a special Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).

COSPAR had its first meeting in London in October 1958. At their second meeting, the Americans offered something amazing: their new space agency, NASA, would launch scientific equipment and even spacecraft for other countries.

The British quickly took up this offer. Three months later, a group went to the USA to start working on the Ariel series of rockets. Harry Elliot was chosen to build a special detector for cosmic rays for the first Ariel satellite.

In January 1960, he traveled to Washington with Sir Harrie Massey and Peter Willmore. Their goal was to agree on what the satellite would carry and how they would work together.

Ariel 1 and European Space Efforts

In 1960, Harry Elliot became a professor at Imperial College. In his first lecture as a professor, he showed off a model of the cosmic ray detector he had built for Ariel 1.

The Ariel 1 spacecraft was launched into space in May 1962. It had some success, but also some problems. An instrument designed to tell the difference between protons and heavier particles was "blinded." This happened because of an artificial radiation belt. This belt was created by the American Starfish high-altitude nuclear explosion, which was a test of a nuclear bomb high in the atmosphere.

Elliot also played a role in the early days of the European space program. This program began with the creation of ESRO in 1964. Six years later, ESRO joined with another group, ELDO, to form the European Space Agency (ESA).

Harry Elliot and his team at Imperial College provided instruments for three of the first four ESRO spacecraft. Later, he also worked on the ESA–NASA International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE) project. He provided instruments for all three spacecraft in that project.

In 1965, the UK government created the Science and Engineering Research Council (SRC). Elliot immediately became involved in two of its main committees. By 1967, he was on the board of both. He served until 1978, spending the last three years as chairman.

His Family Life

While he was working with Coastal Command in Devon during the war, Harry Elliot met Jean Leyman. She was also working with the Command. They got married in Cornwall in 1943. They had two children, a son named Brian and a daughter named Jean.

Betty, Harry's wife, passed away in Tunbridge Wells on January 25, 2007. Harry himself died there on July 5, 2009.

Awards and Recognition

Harry Elliot received many honors and awards for his important work: