404: Not Found{"id":4569,"date":"2023-05-18T14:01:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T14:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/comparing-computers-in-apollo-artemis-missions\/"},"modified":"2023-05-18T14:01:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T14:01:04","slug":"comparing-computers-in-apollo-artemis-missions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/comparing-computers-in-apollo-artemis-missions\/","title":{"rendered":"Comparing Computers in Apollo, Artemis Missions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\/\/php echo do_shortcode(&#8216;[responsivevoice_button voice=&#8221;US English Male&#8221; buttontext=&#8221;Listen to Post&#8221;]&#8217;) ?&gt;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- EET_Top_Leaderboard --><\/p>\n<p>The men who designed and crafted the first practical integrated circuit (IC), the type used in the computers to guide the Apollo spacecraft that made the first U.S. moon landing, were also the unintentional fathers of Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1403993\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1403993\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/?attachment_id=1403993\" target=\"_blank\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1403993 size-medium jetpack-lazy-image\" title=\"Computer History Museum\u2019s David A. Laws\" alt=\"Computer History Museum\u2019s David A. Laws.\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/David_Laws.jpg?w=240&amp;is-pending-load=1#038;resize=240%2C300\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\"\/><noscript><img data-lazy-fallback=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1403993 size-medium\" title=\"Computer History Museum\u2019s David A. Laws\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/David_Laws.jpg?w=240&amp;resize=240%2C300\" alt=\"Computer History Museum\u2019s David A. Laws.\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1403993\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Computer History Museum\u2019s David A. Laws (Source: David A. Laws)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThese are the people that changed the world,\u201d David A. Laws, semiconductor curator of the Computer History Museum, told EE Times. \u201cEverybody knew them. They were heroes in Silicon Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Apollo contract was not the only reason for the transformation of the valley, but it was a major factor, according to an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/airandspace.si.edu\/stories\/editorial\/apollo-guidance-computer-and-first-silicon-chips\" target=\"_blank\">article<\/a> on the Smithsonian\u2019s National Air and Space Museum\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<p>The ICs and software used in the computers used in the Apollo missions had a limited job compared with the computers used in NASA\u2019s current Artemis lunar missions, which use the Orion spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Apollo, they had a lot of switches that took care of most of their functions, and they only used the computers for that little guidance and navigation control while they were landing on the moon,\u201d Matt Lemke, NASA\u2019s manager for Orion avionics, power and software, told EE Times. \u201cIn Orion today, everything is computer-controlled, with very few switches [to be used] just in the case of extreme emergencies where they have to bypass a computer.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1403994\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1403994\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/ic\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1403994 size-large jetpack-lazy-image\" title=\"David A. Laws, center, with the builders of the IC prototype for the Apollo chip in 2007\" alt=\"David A. Laws, center, with the builders of the IC prototype for the Apollo chip in 2007.\" width=\"640\" height=\"388\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IC.jpg?w=640&amp;is-pending-load=1#038;resize=640%2C388\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" data-lazy-fallback=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1403994 size-large\" title=\"David A. Laws, center, with the builders of the IC prototype for the Apollo chip in 2007\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IC.jpg?w=640&amp;resize=640%2C388\" alt=\"David A. Laws, center, with the builders of the IC prototype for the Apollo chip in 2007.\" width=\"640\" height=\"388\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1403994\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Storyteller David A. Laws, center, with the builders of the IC prototype for the Apollo chip in 2007; from left to right: Jay Last, Issy Hass, Laws, Lionel Kattner and Robert Norman (Source: David A. Laws)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are other differences.<\/p>\n<p>Orion is equipped with four computers made by Honeywell and equipped with IBM PowerPC 750X single-core processors. Its software is written by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/lockheed-martin-embraces-ar-on-the-shop-floor\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lockheed Martin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All four computers \u201crun the same code, and we check them bit for bit to make sure their outputs are good,\u201d Lemke said. \u201cIf the outputs are ever different, that computer \u2018fails silent.\u2019 So it quits transmitting, and that way, it never puts anything wrong out onto the vehicle\u2019s bus.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1403995\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1403995\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/matt_lemke\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1403995 size-medium jetpack-lazy-image\" title=\"NASA\u2019s Matt Lemke\" alt=\"NASA\u2019s Matt Lemke.\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Matt_Lemke.jpg?w=240&amp;is-pending-load=1#038;resize=240%2C300\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" data-lazy-fallback=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1403995 size-medium\" title=\"NASA\u2019s Matt Lemke\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Matt_Lemke.jpg?w=240&amp;resize=240%2C300\" alt=\"NASA\u2019s Matt Lemke.\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1403995\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA\u2019s Matt Lemke (Source: NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Orion withstood two radiation hits during the Artemis 1 unmanned lunar orbit mission in 2022, and one computer failed silent, Lemke said. It reset itself, and 20 seconds later, it rejoined the other computers.<\/p>\n<p>The computers are the same type as those used in Boeing\u2019s 787 aircraft, but Orion\u2019s hardware is ruggedized for vibration, thermal and shock events. Some internal parts have been switched out for those whose materials have better radiation tolerance to withstand the effects of traveling through the Van Allen belt and deep space.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the code for the computers\u2019 operating system is partitioned for different systems like propulsion, navigation and life support\u2014so that a failure in one part doesn\u2019t affect other functions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey all think they\u2019re flying the vehicle: Each one thinks they\u2019re in charge,\u201d Lemke said. \u201cIf any one has an upset for whatever reason, it fails silent, and the others that thought they were flying the vehicle, they fly the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>MIT, Raytheon part of Apollo story<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Even though Honeywell, IBM and Lockheed, one of Lockheed Martin\u2019s predecessor companies, all existed at the time of Apollo, its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/no-electronics-no-moon-landing\/\" target=\"_blank\">Apollo Guidance Computers<\/a> (AGCs) were designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and built by Raytheon. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/nasa-uses-risc-v-vector-spec-to-soup-up-space-computers\/\" target=\"_blank\">NASA<\/a> commissioned two versions: The Block II device would benefit technologically from lessons learned during the use of the Block I computer in early unmanned flights.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1404090\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1404090\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/?attachment_id=1404090\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1404090 size-large jetpack-lazy-image\" title=\"Microscopic view of the inside of a silicon chip used in Apollo, consisting of six transistors and eight resistors\" alt=\"Microscopic view of the inside of a silicon chip used in Apollo, consisting of six transistors and eight resistors.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ApolloChip-1.jpeg?w=640&amp;is-pending-load=1#038;resize=640%2C480\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" data-lazy-fallback=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1404090 size-large\" title=\"Microscopic view of the inside of a silicon chip used in Apollo, consisting of six transistors and eight resistors\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ApolloChip-1.jpeg?w=640&amp;resize=640%2C480\" alt=\"Microscopic view of the inside of a silicon chip used in Apollo, consisting of six transistors and eight resistors.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1404090\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Microscopic view of the inside of a silicon chip used in Apollo, consisting of six transistors and eight resistors (Source: Smithsonian\u2019s National Air and Space Museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is what happened, according to an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/computerhistory.org\/blog\/silicon-chips-take-man-to-the-moon\/\" target=\"_blank\">article<\/a> that Laws, a storyteller and former Fairchild Semiconductor marketing employee, wrote for the Computer History Museum\u2019s website:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>The AGCs used ICs, or chips, created and designed at Fairchild. Fairchild licensed the design to Philco-Ford, which produced most of the 800,000 units in the Block II computers used in all manned space missions, including the first moon landing in 1969.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>A Block I computer, which had been reduced to the allotted two cubic feet from multiple refrigerator-sized cabinets, flew on the unmanned Apollo 4 and 6 missions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Block II used 2,756 flat-pack chips with 5,530 logic gates implemented with 16,536 transistors. Many other silicon chips, including thousands of discrete transistors in other pieces of equipment, flew on Apollo 11. Notable examples include analog ICs built by Westinghouse to control the camera that sent TV signals to Earth of pioneering astronaut <\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amphilsoc.org\/item-detail\/transcript-first-moon-landing\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Neil Armstrong<\/em><\/a><em> taking his \u201cone small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Two AGCs\u2014one in the command module, the other in the lunar lander\u2014flew with zero failures in nine lunar and five Earth-orbital missions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Confounding critics who advised that ICs were unproven and too risky for such an important project, the computer gained the reputation of being the most reliable piece of electronic equipment on the spacecraft.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>Far-flung influences<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In 1971, two years after the first lunar landing in 1969, the term \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/the-roots-of-silicon-valley-part-1-founders-legend-legacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Silicon Valley<\/a>\u201d appeared in print, possibly for the first time, according to an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/b907109af4e0423258d38b75b1ca3dc4\" target=\"_blank\">obituary<\/a> for the writer credited with coining it.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the AGC project for the Apollo missions pioneered miniaturized electronics by shrinking a room-sized computer to the size of a briefcase, according to Laws\u2019s article. It also made a huge leap forward in software development: For the first time, a software program was used in real time to control actions that could impact the lives of humans.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1403996\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1403996\" style=\"width: 276px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/paul_kostek\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1403996 size-medium jetpack-lazy-image\" title=\"Air Direct Solutions\u2019 Paul Kostek\" alt=\"Air Direct Solutions\u2019 Paul Kostek.\" width=\"276\" height=\"300\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Paul_Kostek.jpg?w=276&amp;is-pending-load=1#038;resize=276%2C300\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" data-lazy-fallback=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1403996 size-medium\" title=\"Air Direct Solutions\u2019 Paul Kostek\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Paul_Kostek.jpg?w=276&amp;resize=276%2C300\" alt=\"Air Direct Solutions\u2019 Paul Kostek.\" width=\"276\" height=\"300\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1403996\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Air Direct Solutions\u2019 Paul Kostek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Humans also routinely benefit from developments that arose from the Apollo program just about every time they take a commercial flight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink about the digital avionics that took place by proving you could safely fly a spacecraft to the moon \u2026 and actually get back to Earth safely,\u201d said Paul Kostek, advisory systems engineer for Air Direct Solutions. \u201cThat whole concept proves that you could put digital avionics on an airplane and safely fly that airplane. Airplanes now have millions and millions of lines of code in them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\nn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\ndocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n<\/script><script>\n(function(d, s, id) {\n    var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n    if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n    js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n    js.src = \"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=133355186775047\";\n    fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eetimes.com\/comparing-tech-used-for-apollo-artemis-nasa-missions\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] \/\/php echo do_shortcode(&#8216;[responsivevoice_button voice=&#8221;US English Male&#8221; buttontext=&#8221;Listen to Post&#8221;]&#8217;) ?&gt; The men who designed and crafted the first practical integrated circuit (IC), the type used in the computers to guide the Apollo spacecraft that made the first U.S. moon landing, were also the unintentional fathers of Silicon Valley. Computer History Museum\u2019s David A. Laws&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[617,618,616,294,64,65,63,619],"class_list":["post-4569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electronics","tag-apollo","tag-artemis","tag-comparing","tag-computers","tag-electronic-devices","tag-electronic-engineering","tag-electronics","tag-missions","category-38","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4569"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigora.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}