Astro Communications Services

Astro Communications Services, the original company that attempted to computerize astrology, was founded as Astro Computing Services in 1973 in White Plains, New York, by Neil Franklin Michelsen, a systems engineer with IBM. He began work on astrology in 1971 with a computer in his home and inputted the data for the planetary positions for each day of the year through the twentieth century and then for the daily changes in the astrological houses. The primary tool that an astrologer needs for the construction of a horoscope are the ephemeris (which shows the position of the planets day-by-day) and the table of houses (which shows how the astrological houses are divided on the chart). In 1976, Michelsen published the first editions of an American ephemeris and a table of houses. That same year he also left his position at IBM to nurture his new company full time.

Michelsen moved to San Diego in 1979 and three years later reorganized the company as a California corporation, Astro Communications Services, and created its publishing arm, ACS Publications. The company grew off of the continually expanding editions of his reference books, which came to include ephemerises covering a variety of astrological needs, including midpoints and Haley's Comet. He also produced a separate ephemeris for those astrologers who work from a heliocentric (sun-centered) astrological system.

Following Michelson's death in 1990, Maria Kaye Simms, his widow, assumed control of the company. She led the growing enterprise, which now sells a range of astrological accessories, until 1998 when ACS was sold to Great Wisdom Publishing. At that time Simms was succeeded by David Reecher as CEO. Simms remains on the ACS board.

Astro Communications Services is headquartered at 5521 Ruffin Rd., San Diego, CA 92123. It maintains an expansive Internet site at http://www.astrocom.com/.

Sources:

Astro Communications Services. http://www.astrocom.com/. May 23, 2000.