Organizations Founded
The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation
Pelton founded The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. First formally chartered at the White House in 1983 as part of the World Communications Year 1983 celebration, the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation was "created to recognize and promote the extraordinary contributions of Arthur C. Clarke to the world, and to promote the use of space and telecommunications technology for the benefit of humankind". The foundation seeks to foster creativity, recognize present-day innovators, and develop greater general focus on the future. One of its accomplishments includes helping to the establish the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at the University of California, San Diego. Pelton played a key role in establishing the Arthur C. Clarke Institute of Space Safety Education, an arm of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE). Pelton sees one of the highlights of his life was in playing table tennis against Arthur C. Clarke. He claims he never won because Arthur had the advantage of practicing against a robot that could serve at 70 miles an hour.
Alliance for Collaboration in the Exploration of Space
Dr. Pelton, working with long term friend and colleague Jim Crisafulli, started this new space alliance in mid 2021. Its purpose is the enhance the world of space exploration, science, and applications. This organization with a growing number of alliance members is seeking to make all activities related to Outer Space more equitable and sustainable—for many millennia to come.
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ACES Worldwide endeavors to strengthen and promote international space cooperation and establish new alliances between diverse educational, technological, civil and entrepreneurial organizations. ACES Worldwide’s mission is to help advance and support equitable space policies, laws and regulations on a global basis by which all nations and private and public entities can engage in optimizing humanity’s potential for space exploration and utilization--both on and beyond the Earth.
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ACES Worldwide’s aspiration is to help harmonize commercial space endeavors, national space agency goals, and the interests of both non-profit and humanitarian organizations seeking to engage with space exploration, utilization, and development. This alliance primarily addresses issues of space safety, improved sustainability, space traffic management, cosmic hazards and planetary defense, space education and training, and capacity-building in space systems.
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Society of Satellite Professionals International
(now Space and Satellite Professionals International)
In the 1980s, Pelton spearheaded the effort to create the Society of Satellite Professionals International and served as the founding President of this organization - now known as the Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI). The purpose of the SSPI is to raise the level of professional training and education in the field of space and space applications. Also, the SSPI works to raise public awareness of the importance that space applications provide to society. Through his work with SSPI, Pelton led the efforts to create a new exhibit at the National Electronics Museum near the Baltimore-Washington Airport entitled " Satellites: Transforming our Lives."
The SSPI has grown from 12 members in the mid 1980s to over 3000 members worldwide. Pelton was elected to the SSPI Hall of Fame in 2001.
International Space University (ISU)
Pelton worked closely with Peter Diamandis, Todd Hawley, and Robert D. Richards to found the International Space University (ISU). He assisted in recruiting noted science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke as the Chancellor of ISU in 1987. Pelton also served as the ISU Chairman of the Board of Directors and then Chaired the Board of Trustees when the headquarters moved to Strasbourg, France (1992-1995). He then transitioned to V.P. of Academic Affairs, and Dean (1995-1996), striving to expand the international scope of the ISU student body and research programs.
