Harold Rosen (electrical engineer)

Harold A. Rosen ( born March 20, 1926 in New Orleans) is an American electrical engineer. He became known as the director of development of the first geostationary satellite at Hughes Aircraft ( Syncom 2 1963, Syncom 3, 1964).

Rose studied at Tulane University Electrical Engineering with a Bachelor 's degree in 1947 and at Caltech with a Master 's degree in 1948 and his doctorate in 1951. Afterwards, he worked for Raytheon in missile control systems for the Sparrow missile. In 1956, he joined Hughes Aircraft, where he first worked on missile control systems for air defense, to fire control and radar. At times of intense U.S. comeback after the success of the first Soviet Sputnik changed roses for satellite development and developed the first geostationary communication satellite, an old idea of the science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke ( 1945) below. Although there were already to designs, but they were too heavy. The essential idea of roses was to rotate the satellite ( and to develop a solar-powered drive ) so that stabilized its orbit. Involved in the communication technology of the satellite was John R. Pierce. The first satellite Syncom 1 was launched in 1961, but exploded before reaching orbit. The successor Synchom 2 and 3, however, were successful. Syncom 2 was the telephone traffic, Syncom 3 broadcast the first transatlantic television pictures ( from the Olympic Games in 1964 ). Rose stayed with Hughes Aircraft until his retirement in 1992 and was vice president there.

In 1982 he received the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, the 1995 Charles Stark Draper Prize ( with Pierce) and in 1985 as one of the first National Medal of Technology and Innovation. In 2003, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In 1993 he founded with his brother Benjamin M. Rosen Rosen Motors the company, the technology for hybrid cars with a small gas turbine developed with a flywheel for energy storage (also for energy from braking) and acceleration help. In 1997, a prototype was successfully tested, but mass production did not succeed.

Today Rose lives in Santa Monica. He consults at Boeing Satellite Systems.