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The moon mission-1969 of NASA vs. its technology in such early years

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Willen

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Hi all experienced,

When I find someone, worked at world's greatest company or etc, mind takes it as amazing thing I found! i found 'Dick Cappels' here, worked at Apple, it was very amazing! Recently I knew that 'crutschow' had worked for NASA
and it's extremely amazing thing to hear to me. Around my very child age, I was addicted with astronomy and was dream to be there in NASA. :) Unfortunately I didn't get any chance to study technical courses. So now I am mastered in linguistic-education, and now teaching Nepali language in government school. So my dream became just a dream. But as a hobby, I started electronics myself. I learned nothing formally, but from some books and from internet and from you experienced nice guys. I am now addicted to electronics badly though.

Maybe diodes, transistors, chips touched by 'crutschow' (ETO member here), are floating in far space in zero gravity still! A worthful life. Feeling lucky to being with them.

There was a curiosity about NASA's space shuttle and about its first mission to the moon with Neil Armstrong. In 1969, maybe transistors were starting to produce in professional way, I don't know chips were built or not. In the year, first space shuttle were launched for the moon mission. In such beginning days of electronics, how they prepared space shuttle, Tele-communications, computers, displays and how they controlled such huge mission at the time of lack of advanced technology? Just using 'transistors'? Interesting!

I hope someone have nice experience and information. I wish, 'crutschow' will be here too!
 
my Dad built a pickle jar crystal Radio for me at age 12. i think that's when I became interested. I can appreciate the brilliant of my former colleagues, but my experience started in the library , fortified with class theory and long hours.

I worked for a supplier to Nasa in my 1st job. I wasn't allowed to use any of the cool new chips that came out in the 70's every month until they were at least a year old with process stability and established reliability. It was was also handy to read all the Mil-Std Hdbk 's on component properties and have a huge lab full of every test instrument one could imagine.

My fave project was remote control (SCADA) using a pair of HP calculators (HP9825) that connected over RS485 and a rack full of ADC/DaC/Mux and a hundred selectable functions connected to a Black Brandt solid fuel sounding rocket in the launch tower. Circa '78
The fun part was watching this rocket leave the atmosphere reaching a speed of Mach7 in under a minute from Churchill, MB. and playing volleyball with Scientists around the world.

The early spacecraft , as I recall used RCA's 8 bit uC's networked with older X-ray hardened technology. Which basically means zap any defective chips early and the ones with fewest defects survive.
 
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Hi Tony Stewart,

You many Americans are almost two generation ahead in electronics and technology than than around here. So I made a crystal radio in the age of 26 years (few years ago). You engineers made the crystal radio as 'expired technology' today but I am just starting to play with it. :)

Wow, it's another noticeable thing I found- you also worked for NASA! Then sure the parts supplied by you still floating in the far space! I always think in the way and it's amazing to me. Amazing, I thought in the time just transistors and few simple ICs were exist but hearing about microcontrollers (uC), I think technology was little advanced than I thought. Maybe computers was very low power (processor, storage). So maybe they hardly landed on the moon than now days.

As you said they only accept ICs after one year of testing stability and reliability. Maybe such lesson tought to Americans to manufacture high quality products. In my part of the world, many more fake and cheap parts are being manufactured. However unavailability of even basic parts makes me irritating most of the time.

In which part of the engineering you worked mostly? Maybe USA is the most accessible part of the world! :)
 
Actually I'm Canadian, and we only supplied units for NASA and other Aerospace users in my 1st job in my profile.
 
Oh I thought you are from USA. Takling with audioguru, canadaelk etc here in ETO, I felt that the USA and Canada are same accessible and fertile place for electronics. Sure, you have very nice and fun experiences of very long career! Wow!
 
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