[1] He was a driving force in supporting the Hubble Space Telescope, the Halley's Comet Intercept, and in international technical collaboration.

Burton Edelson graduated in 1944 from East Lansing High School and received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy.

In 1965, he moved to the London Office of Naval Research where his responsibilities focused on technology exchange as part of NATO.

[2] Dr. Edelson was a cofounder in 1971 of Digital Communications Corporation (DCC) with John Puente, Andy Werth, Gene Gabbard, and four others.

As digital communications and technology company founders, they were ahead of their time and had trouble securing financial support.

He played a leading role in the Mars exploration missions and the Hubble Space Telescope,[3] and was associated with other programs such as the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite program, the Halley's Comet Intercept,[3] as well as Mission to Planet Earth,[4][5][6] Search for Extraterrestrial Life, and Outer Planet Research[citation needed].

"But he managed to increase the budget significantly, and established a number of programs that helped reinvigorate space science at NASA.

"[3] AT NASA, Edelson pursued the research related to the hole in the ozone layer in the 1980s which resulted in the banning of certain chemicals in aerosols.

After retiring from NASA, Edelson directed research and development projects in satellite communications at George Washington University until his death in 2002.