Digital Apollo
by David A. Mindell · first published 2008
84% recommend11% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Well-researched history of the Apollo Guidance Computer and the tension between automation and pilot control, covering software development and human-machine interface; suits readers wanting depth beyond the hardware.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…as simple and uninteresting, but it was a challenging engineering task, and it never once had a failure in flight. There's lots of resources on the internet to read more. A great book on the topic is Digital Apollo by David Mindell
on “NASA Open Sources Apollo 11 Code (2009)” ↗Exceptions are rare enough to get called out for praise. A few: Digital Apollo, by David Mindell (development of Apollo guidance and avionics generally) The Dream Machine by Mitchell Waldrop (technical development leading up to the Arpanet, thence to the Internet) Colossus, the…
on “The Tears of Donald Knuth” ↗…Guidance Computer there's some really excellent material out there in the world to learn more. My two favorite books are: * The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation - Frank O'Brien * Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight - David A. Mindell Fascinating machine.
on “Diskee: Apollo's Most Important Crewmember” ↗If you are interested in more details of the guidance and control system of the Apollo missions, I highly recommend the book Digital Apollo by David A Mindell. Someone a while back on hackernews recommended the above book and it was absolutely fascinating and it's written remarkably well, very engaging. I am now a professional GNC engineer…
on “The triumph and near-tragedy of the first Moon landing” ↗The linked document was published in 1988; here is the title page: http://history.nasa.gov/computers/Compspace.html Readers might also be interested in Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight by David Mindell, published by MIT Press in 2008: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/digital-apollo http://web.mit.edu/digitalapollo/
on “Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience” ↗Have you read Digital Apollo by Dave Mindell? If not, do so. It is a much better researched text on the story of Apollo guidance, by a professor of aerospace history who works at the institution (MIT) formerly involved with AGC.…
on “Margaret Hamilton, the Engineer Who Took the Apollo to the Moon” ↗A fascinating read about the incredible capabilities of the Apollo software is _Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight Paperback_ by David A. Mindell. Those craft were quite likely capable of a _lot_ more than they were ever allowed to do by the astronauts - though I guess we'll never…
on “Profile of Margaret Hamilton, programmer of the Apollo software” ↗Also, Digital Apollo by David Mindell. Early on--being the late 50s and into the early 70s--the desire for pilot control was entirely the rational thing. Automation was very primitive and pretty much limited to doing the…
on “In 1975, the USSR fired a cannon from an orbiting space station” ↗Absolutely they considered programming to be not as serious. There's a great book called Digital Apollo by David Mindell[1] that talks about the creation of the Apollo Guidance Computer. One of the stories is of a male manager who, after being put in charge of a team of software developers, asks his wife…
on “A Glimpse into the Apollo Guidance Computer” ↗For those interested in the AGC development history, I highly recommend “Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight” by David Mindell.
on “Apollo Guidance Computer Talk” ↗…happened with the Alto development is both fantastic and a tragedy and I guess that's why I'm so keen to read more about it. Edit: Also while not strictly on a regular computer, I highly recommend: "Digital Apollo Human and Machine in Spaceflight" by David A. Mindell which tells the story of the Apollo's computer development.
on “The Joy of Computer History Books” ↗…I'd recommend: 1. How Apollo Flew to the Moon, by W David Woods. Don't be put off by the cheesy cover, this book goes into a lot of technical detail and does a pretty good job of explaining things. 2. Digital Apollo by David A. Mindell. A detailed look at the use of digital technology in Apollo, particularly for guidance. Lots of chewy technical detail. These books would definitely appeal to many HN readers with…
on “The Apollo 11 Journey in Photographs” ↗…but that was considered an emergency measure only.) The LEM software was supposed to be capable of a fully automatic landing, but none of the astronauts rode it all the way down. David Mindell's book "Digital Apollo" goes into these systems, and their development, in much detail; the discussion of the LEM user interface is in chapter 8.
on “How powerful was the Apollo 11 computer? (2009)” ↗For anyone interesting in learning more about this computer system, I highly recommend _Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight_ by David A. Mindell. The hardware limitations! The incredibly low bug count! The memory hand-woven by ladies in a factory! I was blown away by the capabilities of the…
on “Source code for the Apollo 11 Guidance Computer” ↗…in computing in the sixties and early seventies were driven by the NASA space programs. Some sources: Computers in Spaceflight - The NASA Experience: http://history.nasa.gov/computers/contents.html Digital Apollo, by David A. Mindell - https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/digital-apollo The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation by Frank O'Brien - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Apollo-Guidance-Computer-Archite... (highly…
on “Ask HN: How to learn about the history of computing?” ↗