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To: GingisK
BTW, did you see how they programmed the constants into their computers' "ROMs"? They strung individual ferrite cores onto copper wires in a specific sequence and orientation...

I expect my granddaughter's iPod has more computing power and memory than all the computers that flew on all the Apollo missions combined!

108 posted on 02/03/2012 8:34:34 PM PST by TXnMA ("Allah": Satan's current alias...)
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To: TXnMA
...did you see how they programmed the constants into their computers' "ROMs"?

Yes, I surely did. I went to work for Sperry Rand Astrionics in 1973 when I graduated. There were still Apollo artifacts and men from the Apollo program still all over the place in Huntsville. I worked for a short time in a gyro lab where I saw an Apollo computer and its inertial guidance platform still undergoing post-flight tests. The computer was a beast:

From the documentation:
Word size: 15 bits + 1 parity
Cycle time: 11.5 micro seconds (Really slow)
Fixed memory: 36,864 words (73,528 bytes)
Erasable memory: 2,048 words
Addition time: 23.4 micro seconds
Power consumption: 100 watts
Weight: 58 pounds
Volume: 1 cubic foot

It was pretty puny, really. The astronauts keyed in programs using a hexidecimal keypad prior to each mission phase.

I was able to play around with an Apollo landing simulator and explore the inside's of Skylab's sister ship, which never flew.

I wrote software to extract data from Skylab downlink data tapes for distribution to the science labs.

The data from that site is VERY detailed, and even includes wiring and plumbing diagrams for the entire Saturn V stack!

You can also get ALL of that documentation plus more on four DVDs from http://www.TheHistoricalAchive.com for something like $45. That documentation is overwhelming, but lovely.

113 posted on 02/04/2012 8:24:02 AM PST by GingisK
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