Operating Systems > Linux and UNIX
w00t!!
lazygamer:
Three theories.
1)Something else.
2)Getting into and out of space isn't as complex as it seems, and all the calculations can be handled by some human math and instinct/training.
3)This is some proof that we might not of gone to space as early as we think we did.
creedon:
quote:Originally posted by lazygamer:
Three theories.
1)Something else.
2)Getting into and out of space isn't as complex as it seems, and all the calculations can be handled by some human math and instinct/training.
3)This is some proof that we might not of gone to space as early as we think we did.
--- End quote ---
Just to illustrate what a gap there is between now and the bulk of the space program ('60's-'70's), watch "Apollo 13". There'a scene that shows JUST how different things are. As a background, I was an adult in 1970, I was a 23-year old Navy vet with 2 kids.
Anyway, thre's a scene in the movie where Jim Lovell is doing some astro-navigation; he's tired and cold, so he's a little skittish about making a decision that, if wrong, will kill him and the other 2 occupants of the capsule. He asks Mission control to check his math; they all whip out SLIDE RULES and start figuring like mad. Now, the first time I watched that movie, I distinctly remember thinking "Why are they using slide rules? Where's their calculators" Then I remembered- there were NO hand-held calculators on the market in 1970. Do you see my point; I was an ADULT in 1970, and yet I had to think about why they ere using slide rules, even though, as a machinist, I used one regularly at that time.
As far as whether the space program actually did what they perported to do in the 1960's, yeah, I think they did; remember, digital computers didn't exist in a practical form then, but there were analog systems that, while not as flexible, were accurate to the point of being usable for space flight.
Sleeping Dog:
Just a note about what I recall from the space program:
Yuri Gaugarin (sp), the Russian cosmonaut credited with being the "first" man in space, made his three orbit flight in 1963 (If I am not grossly mistaken.) However, there were American pilots from the X-15 program who were later awarded Astronaut wings (very quietly by Congress). Much of the data from the X-15 program of the 50's and 60's is STILL classified.
The Lunar Lander with Neil Armstrong on board had a flight control computer with 64K of RAM. It was linked to the navigational radar and inertial guidance system as well as a data output string that was fed back to the Cape. I believe that it ran a form of UNIX. If the system memory got within about 90% of capacity from too much input, a red light on the pilots control panel would come on to let him know that the computer was near crashing from input overload. There were a couple of times when they had to slow down what they were doing during landing to let the computer catch up.
Hope you folks had a fun and safe holiday.
Sleeping Dog
Calum:
i thought Yuri Gagarin was in space in 1959? i bet the soviet union tried to get a man in space before that too, but cataclysmically failed and hushed up the evidence of several destroyed "first men in soace". We may never truly know who the real first man in space was.
Re: 1959/63, i know nothing! but that was what i heard...
rsd:
Yuri Gagarin reached orbit around earth on 12 April, 1961. I still remember quite vividly, sitting in the classroom and the schooll broadcast system cut through with fanfares and a principal's speach about the achievements of our dearest soviet brethren (I grew up behind the iron curtain -- Czechoslovakia).
However, there is a story that he was not the first. If I remember correctly, it may have been the architect of the russian space program, Korovlev, that got there first, about 4 months earlier. The only problem is that no one knew if he would be successful (SU could not admit a failure) and secondly, he was this unpersonable geek. Since the risk of failure was low after the first successfull attempt (there were 3 other atempts between 1957-1959, all failures and fatal), the decision was made that this Gagarin dude is the best PR material.
And so, as it was with many instances before and after, PR got a priority, beating the historical truth.
[ July 05, 2002: Message edited by: rsd ]
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