[modi123_1]

A buddy of mine sent this to me because he knows I enjoy "all things outer-space related" and I do something "with programming".

http://kottke.org/12...gemini-programs
http://www.ibiblio.o...ollo/links.html

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An extensive collection gathered from all over the internet of the source code and documentation for NASA's Apollo and Gemini programs. Here's part of the source code for Apollo 11's guidance computer

I found a few of the file names amusing.. There's a decent amount of documentation.

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# Filename: PINBALL_GAME_BUTTONS_AND_LIGHTS.agc

http://www.ibiblio.o...LIGHTS.agc.html

Has anyone else come across odd nuggets of famous old code out on the web?

[jon.kiparsky]

Oh, man.

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A2X Copy A1-16 into X1-16 by private line.

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B15X Set bit 15 of X to 1.

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CI Insert carry into bit 1 of the adder.

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ZAP Always implies RU, G2LS, and WALS.

[Craig328]

Sweet Jebus...I just picked one at random and it was a description of what the computer does. The guy essentially describes one of its functions as nothing more than an electronic sextant. They even provided a handy diagram:



I swear, the more I learn about the moon missions the more convinced I am that this country has been pussified to an almost incalculable degree. These guys went to the Moon with computers less powerful than you find in your common Gameboy apparently in a quest to find even more room to let their enormous clanking balls roam.

A sextant...something mariners had been using for a good 400 years before Apollo. And these guys used it to calculate orbital angles of insertion and such where if you screw it up, you either crash or zoom off into space.

Like I said...big brass balls.

[h4nnib4l]

Two back-to-back successful launches of the Titan II by NASA were considered sufficient before they strapped two guys to the nose and launched it into spaec. Previous attempts were all catastrophic, but two in a row was good enough for them. There's NO WAY that would fly these days...

Yeah, I think these guys went to space solely to escape gravity to be temporarily relieved from the weight of their giant balls...

[WolfCoder]

Craig328, on 26 April 2012 - 09:41 AM, said:

...
A sextant...something mariners had been using for a good 400 years before Apollo. And these guys used it to calculate orbital angles of insertion and such where if you screw it up, you either crash or zoom off into space.
...

Actually, precisely calculating the flight was impossible. All this junk they had was so they can constantly keep themselves on track and keep error to a minimum.

Going to the moon using a sextant still sounds badass. TI-89? They can beat your ass with a slide rule.

[modi123_1]

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They can beat your ass with a slide rule.

God don't I know that! Sister Mary Stigmata had a a two foot long metal slideruler that would always find the most painful spot to hit you when you dozed off in class... let alone when you lipped off!

[Craig328]

I snerked to "Sister Mary Stigmata".

[jon.kiparsky]

Craig328, on 26 April 2012 - 03:38 PM, said:

I snerked to "Sister Mary Stigmata".

Too much sharing for me.

[WolfCoder]