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Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

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  • #76
    Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

    The older boy made an interesting observation today when we were discussing how the computers for Apollo 11 were millions of times less powerful than the computer in a smart phone today. He wondered if we could go to the moon today using the same technology they had in 1969. Your first reaction is likely, "Of course" but think about it for a minute.

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    • #77
      Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

      Originally posted by Slap Shot View Post
      The older boy made an interesting observation today when we were discussing how the computers for Apollo 11 were millions of times less powerful than the computer in a smart phone today. He wondered if we could go to the moon today using the same technology they had in 1969. Your first reaction is likely, "Of course" but think about it for a minute.
      The only reasons we couldn't would be that 1) people have totally forgotten how that was made and programmed (and programming "style" has moved to a totally different realm, where program volume isn't an issue) and 2) over the last 50 years, I suspect that the flight readiness requirements for systems has changed- so I'm not sure that it would actually qualify for flight anymore.

      Assuming that #2 is not a appropriate reason for the thinking, I think 1) is a very serious problem. IMHO, software coding needs to go back to its roots so that it's simpler to understand and develop- autocode has really ruined how software is written. The simple code will also run a whole lot faster, with less processing requirements, etc- which means the best of the best processors will have a pretty easy time of it- so one could really focus on reliability and safety.

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      • #78
        Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

        Originally posted by alfablue View Post
        The only reasons we couldn't would be that 1) people have totally forgotten how that was made and programmed (and programming "style" has moved to a totally different realm, where program volume isn't an issue) and 2) over the last 50 years, I suspect that the flight readiness requirements for systems has changed- so I'm not sure that it would actually qualify for flight anymore.

        Assuming that #2 is not a appropriate reason for the thinking, I think 1) is a very serious problem. IMHO, software coding needs to go back to its roots so that it's simpler to understand and develop- autocode has really ruined how software is written. The simple code will also run a whole lot faster, with less processing requirements, etc- which means the best of the best processors will have a pretty easy time of it- so one could really focus on reliability and safety.
        I remember reading stories about how we have "lost" the technology -- in that a lot of the documentation went missing, a lot of the tech was cannibalized for future projects or just disappeared, and a lot of the engineers simply were not able to recreate the programs after 40+ years in the dust. I well believe it.

        I do wonder what we could do today with the same proportional NASA budget. But the most efficient use of resources by far is unmanned missions. Once human beings can run on electricity and fit on a chip...
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        • #79
          Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

          Originally posted by alfablue View Post
          The only reasons we couldn't would be that 1) people have totally forgotten how that was made and programmed (and programming "style" has moved to a totally different realm, where program volume isn't an issue) and 2) over the last 50 years, I suspect that the flight readiness requirements for systems has changed- so I'm not sure that it would actually qualify for flight anymore.

          Assuming that #2 is not a appropriate reason for the thinking, I think 1) is a very serious problem. IMHO, software coding needs to go back to its roots so that it's simpler to understand and develop- autocode has really ruined how software is written. The simple code will also run a whole lot faster, with less processing requirements, etc- which means the best of the best processors will have a pretty easy time of it- so one could really focus on reliability and safety.
          I left it open but these were some of the things we talked about. It's quite interesting to think about.

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          • #80
            Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

            A big day coming. Recent and upcoming milestones:

            069:10:24 Crew wake-up
            071:33:59 Solar corona visible
            072:17:39 Collins "no more meetings"
            072:29:24 News Report: Fred Haise - Neil is Czar, sports, astrologer
            073:17:24 Crew sees Moon up close for the first time
            073:18:10 Neil jokes about bringing the MOCR to the Moon
            073:20:32 Collins jokes about "The Czar"
            075:29:39 Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) status check
            075:49:44 Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) burn
            075:51:55 Aldrin electrical
            075:56:25 LOI burn shutdown
            075:56:29 Collins loves MIT
            075:59:14 Good burn excitement
            075:53:24 In Lunar Orbit
            076:02:18 Preparing for pictures of Earthrise
            076:06:32 Plenty of earthrises
            076:07:05 Collins wants to void meteors
            076:09:19 Monster mountains
            076:10:36 Geologizing one crater
            076:11:06 Aldrin being "unscientific"
            076:14:32 Collins: "Golly ****! A geologist up here would just go crazy."
            076:15:12 Earthrise on first lunar orbit
            076:21:56 Burn status perfect
            076:34:34 Armstrong: "There's no substitute for actually being here."
            076:37:49 Lovell smiling about seeing mount Marilyn
            076:42:49 Recording comments for posterity
            077:35:00 Armstrong follows Flight Plan
            078:24:11 Video: TV on
            078:57:45 Aldrin says goodbye
            079:49:43 Aldrin: "Let's burn."
            080:13:34 Aldrin talks to "All those listening to the tape"
            080:28:05 Collins wants to stop PTC to get Earthrise
            080:31:19 Collins realizes they're going backwards
            082:20:00 Before earthrise photo
            082:28:55 Aldrin questions Flight Plan
            082:58:30 Armstrong describes spectacular view
            083:20:28 Changing dishes to test communications with Eagle
            083:49:01 Aldrin wants to listen to music
            084:01:14 Aldrin raids the pantry
            084:02:20 Collins amazed at how quickly he has adapted
            084:07:23 Music: John Stewart - Mother Country
            084:11:08 Aldrin wonders about bringing sliderule into LM
            084:11:08 Music: Peggy Lee - Spinning Wheel
            084:13:52 Music: Peggy Lee - Everyday People
            084:17:00 Music: Lou Rawls - Three O'clock in the Morning
            084:22:07 Music: Glen Campbell - Galveston
            084:25:27 Music: Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind
            084:28:27 Music: Tennessee Ernie Ford - Take My Hand, Precious Lord
            085:12:50 Music: Barbara Streisand - People
            085:20:24 Music: unidentified
            085:44:52 Aldrin talks about wardrobe function
            085:48:18 Music: unidentified
            085:56:51 Music: unidentified
            086:04:01 Music: Frank Sinatra - It's Nice To Go Trav'ling
            086:12:16 Music: Bettye Swann - Angel Of The Morning
            086:23:04 Music: The Lettermen - Put Your Head On My Shoulder
            086:32:38 Earthrise 16mm and photos Rev 6
            086:32:55 Crew Sleep Period Start
            093:32:40 Crew wake-up

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            • #81
              Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

              Jesus. That music is why we nearly had a revolution in this country.
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              • #82
                Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                Originally posted by Kepler View Post
                Jesus. That music is why we nearly had a revolution in this country.
                Well these guys were the squarest of the square.

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                • #83
                  Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                  Originally posted by Slap Shot View Post
                  Well these guys were the squarest of the square.
                  That stuff isn't square. It's fossilized.
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                  • #84
                    Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                    Originally posted by Slap Shot View Post
                    076:37:49 Lovell smiling about seeing mount Marilyn
                    I just assumed this was a boobs reference. It's actually the sweetest story ever.

                    Mount Marilyn holds a special place in the history of lunar exploration. This 1400-meter tall peak straddling the boundary between Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Fecunditatis served as a critical landmark as Apollo 11 astronauts descended to the surface. If the landmark was visible at a specified time, the astronauts knew they were on-track.

                    Before the Apollo 8 flight the astronauts picked distinctive landmarks along potential landing routes, and Jim Lovell picked Mount Marilyn. Marilyn and Jim, high school sweethearts, were married shortly after Jim graduated from the Naval Academy in 1952. Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 8, and Marilyn and Jim have been married for more than 65 years!

                    Lovell first saw Mount Marilyn in person as the Apollo 8 Command Module flew over and he called out the landmark at 72:05:40 Ground Elapsed Time: Lovell: I can see the old second initial point right now, Mount Marilyn.

                    Mount Marilyn appears on many Apollo-era technical reports and maps, but the name was not officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) until recently. This historic landmark was officially named "Mount Marilyn" on 26 July 2017.
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                    • #85
                      Originally posted by Kepler View Post
                      I just assumed this was a boobs reference. It's actually the sweetest story ever.
                      I always figured most people knew that story, they talked about it in the Apollo 13 movie.
                      U-A-A!!!Go!Go!GreenandGold!
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                      I spell Failure with UAF

                      Originally posted by UAFIceAngel
                      But let's be real...There are 40 some other teams and only two alaskan teams...the day one of us wins something big will be the day I transfer to UAA
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                      Best sign by a visting Seawolf fan Friday went to a young man who held up a piece of white poster board that read: "YOU CAN'T SPELL FAILURE WITHOUT UAF."

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                      • #86
                        Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                        Originally posted by Jimjamesak View Post
                        I always figured most people knew that story, they talked about it in the Apollo 13 movie.
                        Which strangely I have never seen.
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                        • #87
                          Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                          *record scratch*

                          *awkward silence*

                          Wait, what?
                          “Demolish the bridges behind you… then there is no choice but to build again.”

                          Live Radio from 100.3

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                          • #88
                            Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                            Moved Tom Hanks discussion to Movie thread.
                            Last edited by Kepler; 07-19-2019, 11:18 AM.
                            Cornell University
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                            ECAC Champion 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010
                            Ivy League Champion 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020

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                            • #89
                              Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                              Originally posted by joecct View Post
                              For you born after 1972 - how much do the moon landings mean to you?
                              Well, I live in this world every day. I am a Payload Operations Director at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. We manage the NASA science on ISS and make sure that they have the resources (power, cooling, data, commanding links, video, crew access) on an everyday basis. I'm currently serving as the Assistant Payload Operations Manager, which mainly means that I'm stressing out, getting fatter on the candy in the office, and pulling my hair out (literally) trying to take care of three astronauts [until tomorrow, when it's six], keeping them healthy and motivated to do good work to serve our science and engineering clients. It's fascinating, frustrating, and rewarding.

                              Before this, I wrangled facility racks around here for a contractor; before that, I built hardware that sits outside on station, keeping big pieces of replaceable equipment in an appropriate temperature range and keeping them from floating away. Before that, I helped develop a science payload. Next month, I hit 20 years in aerospace. I came to UAH because I wanted to work in this community — along the way, I fell in love with a (now-crappy) hockey team.

                              Apollo XI is important, but I hate that I missed it.

                              A little more of my story: http://gfmorris.net/2014/07/14/back-in-the-saddle-2/

                              GFM
                              Geof F. Morris
                              UAH BSE MAE 2002
                              UAHHockey.com

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                              • #90
                                Re: Apollo 11 - 50 years on.

                                077:12:07 Aldrin Roger. Seems to me, since we know orbits so precisely, and know where the stars are so precisely, and the time of setting of a star or a planet to so very fine a degree, that this might be a pretty good means of measuring the altitude of the horizon ...
                                077:12:32 Mission Control Roger.
                                077:12:51 Armstrong Hey, Houston. I'm looking north up toward Aristarchus now, and I can't really tell at that distance whether I am really looking at Aristarchus, but there's an area that is considerably more illuminated than the surrounding area. It just has - seems to have a slight amount of fluorescence to it. A crater can be seen, and the area around the crater is quite bright.
                                077:13:29 Mission Control Roger, 11. We copy.
                                077:14:23 Aldrin Houston, Apollo 11. Looking up at the same area now and it does seem to be reflecting some of the earthshine. I'm not sure whether it was worked out to be about zero phase to - Well, at least there is one wall of the crater that seems to be more illuminated than the others, and that one - if I'm lining up with the Earth correctly, does seem to put it at about a zero phase. That area is definitely lighter than anything else that I could see out this window. I am not sure that I am really identifying any phosphorescence, but that definitely is lighter than anything else in the neighborhood.
                                077:15:15 Mission Control 11, this is Houston. Can you discern any difference in color of the illumination, and is that an inner or an outer wall from the crater? Over.
                                077:15:33 Collins Roger. That's an inner wall of the crater.
                                077:15:42 Collins No, there doesn't appear to be any color involved in it, Bruce.
                                077:15:47 Mission Control Roger. You said inner wall. Would that be the inner edge of the northern surface?
                                077:16:00 Aldrin Well, I guess it would be the inner edge of the west-northwest part, the part that would be more nearly normal if you were looking at it from the Earth.
                                077:16:19 Mission Control 11, Houston. Have you used the monocular on this? Over.
                                077:16:29 Collins Stand by one.
                                077:18:00 Collins Roger. Like you to know this quest for science has caused me to lose my lunch. It's supposed to be around here somewhere, but I can't find it.

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