[NASA APOLLO PROGRAM COMMAND MODULE SIMULATOR & SCIENTIFIC DATA SYSTEMS]

Year Published: 1960s

Creator: NASA

Description: This fascinating silent film shows one of the Apollo program's Command Module simulators. It's believed that this was filmed in Houston, Texas, and used to simulate three dimensional space travel. A large globe of the planet Earth (:58) was filmed by a closed circuit TV camera to provide an out-the-window view of the planet as it might be seen in orbit (1:53). A large gyroscope is seen in the footage at (3:28). The computer shown at (3:08) is a Scientific Data Systems (SDS) mainframe, used to provide guidance for the Command Module. At (5:44) a "word" is input into the guidance system.

According to a NASA website, "The Command Module Simulator was used to train the Apollo astronauts. It was used in conjunction with the Lunar Module Simulator. The simulated command module was patterned after the actual spacecraft. Although motion was not simulated physically, the sensations were provided by a visual system. Realism of the mission was maintained by simulating all aspects of flight that the crew would encounter, including system sounds, failures, fire, life support, and food preparation. Three simulation engineers conducted the training missions and had the capability to insert malfunctions to enhance crew training."

The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) was a digital computer produced for the Apollo program that was installed on board each Apollo command module (CM) and Apollo Lunar Module (LM). The AGC provided computation and electronic interfaces for guidance, navigation, and control of the spacecraft. The AGC was the first computer based on silicon integrated circuits.[citation needed] The computer's performance was comparable to the first generation of home computers from the late 1970s, such as the Apple II, TRS-80, and Commodore PET.

The AGC has a 16-bit word length, with 15 data bits and one parity bit. Most of the software on the AGC is stored in a special read-only memory known as core rope memory, fashioned by weaving wires through and around magnetic cores, though a small amount of read/write core memory is available.

Astronauts communicated with the AGC using a numeric display and keyboard called the DSKY (for "display and keyboard", pronounced "DIS-kee"). The AGC and its DSKY user interface were developed in the early 1960s for the Apollo program by the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory and first flew in 1966.

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmuEZLJPPCw

Metadata Source:YouTube