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The reason you have a computer that fits in your pocket, much less requires its own room with a reinforced floor is due to the NASA space program. On edit: mea
by splitrocket 10y ago
The reason you have a computer that fits in your pocket, much less requires its own room with a reinforced floor is due to the NASA space program.
On edit: meant for the parent comment, but its parent instead
- Animats 10y agoThe reason you have a computer that fits in your pocket, much less requires its own room with a reinforced floor is due to the NASA space program. No. That's a common misconception. ICs were a commercial development, and microprocessors came from the calculator industry. Pre-IC electronics miniaturization was pushed hard by the USAF; NASA just used it. The USAF had a flyable transistorized computer in 1954, before NASA existed. The Minuteman I missile (1962) carried a transistorized guidance computer.
- pinewurst 10y agoAlso Polaris, a little bit earlier (deployed 1960) had a very small transistorized guidance computer which was the design root of the Apollo Guidance Computer. Polaris was much more of a DDA (digital differential analyzer) than real computer though.
- ascorbic 10y agoICBM development is basically a space program with a different budget code though, right?
- pinewurst 10y agoAnd a delivery service too - "Your package delivered in 30 minutes or less or next one's free!" (There at least used to be a Minuteman silo with the door painted like a pizza box with that slogan)
- gozur88 10y agoYes, though there was a divergence later. For various strategic reasons you want your ICBMs to use solid rockets, so while the early manned rockets were liquid fueled ICBMs mated to capsules, money spent on ICBMs today probably doesn't do much for a civilian space program. On the other hand, I doubt we spend much money upgrading our ICBMs. The technology is mature, and that's an area where "good enough" is, well, good enough.