Commodore Computers and the Lunar Landings

[gizz72]

My dad used to tell stories about the lunar landing in the late 60's that Commodore Computers were used to guide the Apollo missions back then which led him to buy me my C64 later in '87.
I wonder, was Commodore computers ever used then?
And in relation, how long did they used it?

Was Amigas used too later?

Thanks

Gizz

[blobrana]

hum,
i believe it may have been the Z80  chips that they used...

(as in zx spectrum?)


Hum, two custom computers

[PMC]

I'm sure I read something about A2000s and A3000s being used by NASA for launch telemetry during the 1990s and possibly beyond.

Not sure about the Apollo computers though!  

OT:  I read somewhere that the engine management computer in a Ford Fiesta has more computing power than those early Apollo computers!  

Food for thought?

[odin]

Ta for the link blob, very interesting read.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

Commodore manufactured computers for the Apollo project?
Well, hardly I think
I think back then, Commodore was solely a typewriter manufacturer.

[ltstanfo]

gizz72 wrote:
My dad used to tell stories about the lunar landing in the late 60's that Commodore Computers were used to guide the Apollo missions back then which led him to buy me my C64 later in '87.
I wonder, was Commodore computers ever used then?
And in relation, how long did they used it?

Was Amigas used too later?

Thanks

Gizz

Sorry but this and other brands of computers being used to guide to Apollo / Lunar Lander are nothing more then urban legends.  The computers and the software were developed by MIT.  Listed below is a link.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/moon/computer.htm

Regards,
ltstanfo

[ltstanfo]

PMC wrote:
I'm sure I read something about A2000s and A3000s being used by NASA for launch telemetry during the 1990s and possibly beyond.

Not sure about the Apollo computers though!  

There were some AMIGAs used in the mid to late 1990s to process telemetry data for the Space Shuttle program.  It is doubtful that they are still in use however as many of the cards used in the AMIGAs were custom made and with no reliable source for spares / replacement components for the AMIGAs it was / is a matter of time until they have to be replaced.

Listed below is a link that discusses AMIGAs in use by NASA:

http://www.stud.uni-hannover.de/user/68737/AEcastro.html

Regards,
ltstanfo

[gizz72]

@Blob
Nice link. I got hooked there for a while. :lol: :-D

@Itstanfo
Thanks for clearing it all up. The link tells it all. :idea:

Cheers :-)

Gizz thanks all contributors!

[cecilia]

PMC wrote:
OT:  I read somewhere that the engine management computer in a Ford Fiesta has more computing power than those early Apollo computers!  

Food for thought?

when we were making the Effects for "From the Earth to the Moon", we would sometimes have a good laugh at the fact that we were using computers (including the amiga4000 in the office!) that were more complex and faster, etc to SIMULATE going to the moon than had actually been used to GET to the moon.