Sir Robert Boyd


1922 - 2004

Space research pioneer. Born in Saltcoats (North Ayrshire), the son of a scientist, Boyd was educated at Imperial College and University College, London. He became a lecturer in Physics at University College in 1952, rising to became Professor ten years later. His interests were in high altitude atmospheric research and he soon realised that he needed access to rockets and eventually satellites. He was a founding director of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in 1967 and went on to play an instrumental role in the founding of the European Space Research Organization which became the European Space Agency in 1975. Boyd was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (1969) and awarded an honorary degree by Heriot-Watt University (1979). He was awarded a CBE in 1972 and knighted in 1983.


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