Software archaeology - Learning from the landing on the moon!
summary
Apollo Guidance Computer is a 32 kg, 55 W embedded computer with 16-bit words, ~2,000 words of RAM and ~36,000 words of core rope program memory (≈72 KB) that yields ~9 decimal digits of precision (~30 cm navigation). Its executive implements priority scheduling with 7 concurrent processes and uses cooperative handoff plus interrupts. A built virtual machine interpreter (mixable with assembly) simplifies coding. During Apollo 11 program alarms (121/122) the AGC discards lowest priority jobs and keeps landing tasks running so the mission succeeds.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00Introduction to talk
- 0:50Space Race and Apollo program
- 10:28Apollo missions overview
- 12:37Apollo Guidance Computer hardware
- 18:42AGC software and memory limits
- 24:29User interface and astronaut interaction
- 28:45AGC software architecture
- 33:09Program alarms during landing
- 37:24Margaret Hamilton and software engineering
- 40:13Manual override and mission success
- 42:02Key learnings from Apollo
- 44:11Conclusion and Q&A
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