Sunburst and Luminary
by Don Eyles · first published 2018
79% recommend17% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Firsthand memoir by the programmer of the Apollo lunar landing software, covering writing and testing code for the Apollo Guidance Computer and the 1202 alarms. Suits readers curious about early software engineering.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In 1966 the author, newly graduated from college, went to work for the MIT laboratory where the Apollo guidance system was designed. His assignment was to program the complex lunar landing phase in the Lunar Module's on board computer. As Apollo 11 approaches, the author flies lunar landings in simulators and meets the astronauts who will fly the LM for real. He explains the computer alarms that almost prevented Neil Armstrong from landing and describes a narrow escape from another dangerous problem. On Apollo 14 he devises a workaround when a faulty pushbutton threatens Alan Shepard's mission
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I recommend Journey to the Moon by Eldon Hall, designer of the AGC. The O'Brien book has a lot of good information but also a lot of problems. Sunburst and Luminary is also interesting, written by Don Eyles who wrote much of the lunar landing code. He goes into a detailed explanation of the 1202 program alarms.
on “Diskee: Apollo's Most Important Crewmember” ↗…Carreyou This has been listed multiple times. Depicts the darkside of the startup phenomena * Chasing New Horizons - Alan Stern, David Grinspoon Documents the people and machine that explored Pluto * Sunburst and Luminary - Don Eyles History of the Apollo guidance computer software from the man who wrote it
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗In no particular order: Sunburst and Luminary: an Apollo Memoir https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLhome.html The Brain Makers https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Makers-HP-Newquist/dp/067230412... Strategic Computing: DARPA and the Quest for Machine…
on “Ask HN: Computer Science/History Books?” ↗Don Eyles' book Sunburst and Luminary has a chapter on this, and Don was primarily responsible for the Apollo 14 workaround. The book is also generally just a fantastic account of what it was like to develop software for the Apollo Guidance…
on “NASA can't figure out what's causing computer issues on the Hubble telescope” ↗Of course I read it, back when. But people don't read books anymore, do they? Favorite recent book lately is by Don Eyles, "Sunburst and Luminary", about developing the Apollo lunar landing software. I bought it off the website below, which delivered quickly without fuss. http://sunburstandluminary.com/ I take the opportunity to remember Hal…
on “AI-engineered enzyme eats entire plastic containers” ↗If you want a programmer's eye view of the Apollo hardware / software, I recommend Sunburst and Luminary: an Apollo Memoir by Don Eyles. He wrote some of the programmes that landed the Lunar Module and gives a great perspective on how they worked and integrated with the other programmes (like the radar manager)…
on “Engineers investigating NASA’s Voyager 1 telemetry data” ↗…On each fault, it rebooted and resumed the high-priority processes with all of their important state preserved. Don Eyles, who coded most of the actual landing process, explains in detail in his book "Sunburst and Luminary". Recommended. (People often give Margaret Hamilton credit for this, but her involvement came after this work was done.) http://www.sunburstandluminary.com Hal died in 2012, passed over for a Turing…
on “Early History of Programming Languages with Donald Knuth [video]” ↗…biography field. Heaviside's own books are available to buy, and are filled with neglected gems. While I'm here, Don Eyles's account of the Apollo program and his role programming the moon landing, "Sunburst and Luminary" is notable. Ordered directly from his website https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLhome.html , it was delivered with gratifying alacrity. Further afield, I read "Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography…
on “Longitude found: the story of Harrison's clocks” ↗If you're interested in this, I can recommend Sunburst and Luminary: An Apollo Memoir, by Don Eyles. http://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLhome.html It was Don who wrote the Apollo lunar module software that handled the whole landing phase, and was responsible for the…
on “The Computer Hack That Saved Apollo 14 (2017) [video]” ↗…https://www.ibiblio.org/apollo/Documents/Memo-GAEC_LMO_541_1... Excerpt from the LM-8 Systems Handbook showing the reference voltage RR switch wiring: https://i.imgur.com/fMsQ7RI.png Don Eyles describes the software side best in his book Sunburst and Luminary (which I highly recommend) but he also talks about it in some detail on his website: https://doneyles.com/LM/Tales.html
on “Apollo Guidance Computer switching power supply works after 50 years” ↗…career. Fiction: Saturn Run, by John Sandford. Very exciting, great characters, science fiction with great science. I would call it a modern science fiction novel. Very Refreshing. Science/history/cool: Sunburst and Luminary, by Don Eyles. An Apollo Memoir; very exciting, great explanations about programming and designing the navigation and landing computer of the lunar module, with a neat view into the characters and history…
on “Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?” ↗…book is also a wonderful look into the work teams, their dynamics, characters, and a brief glimpse into the politics and culture of the world around them as they frenetically worked, to get to the moon. Sunburst and Luminary: An Apollo Memoir. by Don Eyles. Sunburst and Luminary: An Apollo Memoir
on “Saving the shuttle simulator–“It was an artifact that needed to be preserved”” ↗I'm about halfway through Don Eyles' Sunburst and Luminary: An Apollo Memoir and so far it definitely meets your criterion. Check that one out.
on “Pilot explains how he Survived Blackbird Disintegration at Mach 3.2” ↗I read through Don Eyles apollo memoir Sunburst and Luminary- great book. In the book he describes their simulator for the lunar landing (essentially a test harness for the landing code) which consisted of inputs of coordinates and speeds, and gave printed output…
on “My project is now an easter egg in Microsoft Flight Simulator” ↗Restoring the Apollo Guidance Computer [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36648529 Also I again highly recommend the book Sunburst and Luminary, by Don Eyles. http://sunburstandluminary.com/SLhome.html A very interesting read about the Apollo guidance computer, it's development and testing, it's easy to understand and exciting, even though you…
on “The Many Planned Moon Landings of 2023” ↗