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Don is still around, and is still awesome! His memory for events around that time is surprisingly sharp, for it being 50 years ago. He's been an invaluable res

Don is still around, and is still awesome! His memory for events around that time is surprisingly sharp, for it being 50 years ago. He's been an invaluable resource for us at the VirtualAGC project [1]. He provided over half (!) of the AGC programs we've made available, including LM software for Apollo 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15-17, plus several other ground development programs. He also was the source of a majority of the schematics that we used in the AGC restoration [2] -- I can say with 100% confidence that it wouldn't have been possible to get that computer working again without his help. He's got a book out now, Sunburst and Luminary [3], that is very good and goes into a lot of technical detail on the LM software, without getting too much into the weeds. I highly recommend it if you're interested in that sort of thing! [1] http://www.ibiblio.org/apollo/ http://www.ibiblio.org/apollo/ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KSahAoOLdU&list=PL-_93BVApb59FWrLZfdlisi_x7-Ut_-w7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KSahAoOLdU&list=PL-_93BVApb... [3] https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLhome.html https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLhome.html

js2 7y ago
HN, if nothing else, look through the photos and captions: https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLgallery.html https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLgallery.html
Quai 7y ago
Such impressive work, in so many ways. The amount of knowledge and expertise you guys brought to the project is immense!
zweizeichen 7y ago
Mike, thanks a lot for working on the restoration project! It was amazing to watch your progress and the ingenious tools and solutions you guys came up with. It also sparked my interest in AGC-related things and while I at first expected it to be a somewhat simple and elegant machine (easier to formally verify) I quickly realized it too like almost any engineering project was subject to reality/deadline-driven compromises everywhere (looking at you memory architecture). However, it is a machine which still 'fits in your head' compared to the historical achievement. We probably won't be able to do that kind of thing with the more recently developed, more complex systems we're going to use for the next steps in space exploration.

js2 7y ago

HN, if nothing else, look through the photos and captions: https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLgallery.html https://www.sunburstandluminary.com/SLgallery.html

Quai 7y ago

Such impressive work, in so many ways. The amount of knowledge and expertise you guys brought to the project is immense!

zweizeichen 7y ago

Mike, thanks a lot for working on the restoration project! It was amazing to watch your progress and the ingenious tools and solutions you guys came up with. It also sparked my interest in AGC-related things and while I at first expected it to be a somewhat simple and elegant machine (easier to formally verify) I quickly realized it too like almost any engineering project was subject to reality/deadline-driven compromises everywhere (looking at you memory architecture). However, it is a machine which still 'fits in your head' compared to the historical achievement. We probably won't be able to do that kind of thing with the more recently developed, more complex systems we're going to use for the next steps in space exploration.