Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
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Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
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Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#2Pretty interesting. Designing the whole system from scratch and being able to remove all unused overhead associated with 'modern' OSs certainly helps being able to fit it all in 1MB.
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#3The shuttle computer does what computers do best: crunch numbers. I'd be interested in knowing what sort of hardware that RAM plugs in to, and also exactly how fast operations need to be completed in order for the shuttle to not fall out of the sky.
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#4The shuttle computer does what computers do best: crunch numbers. I'd be interested in knowing what sort of hardware that RAM plugs in to, and also exactly how fast operations need to be completed in order for the shuttle to not fall out of the sky.
The shuttle uses 4 separate 1.2MHz IBM AP-101 operating in lockstep / redundant systems, with a 5th running an independent system. I assume the fifth is setup in case of software failures.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_AP-101
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle
PS: It's easy to forget just how old and hacked together the Space Shuttle is: Historically, the Shuttle was not launched if its flight would run from December to January (a year-end rollover or YERO). Its flight software, designed in the 1970s, was not designed for this, and would require the orbiter's computers be reset through a change of year, which could cause a glitch while in orbit. In 2007, NASA engineers devised a solution so Shuttle flights could cross the year-end boundary.[38]
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#5an probably some of the most audited code on the planet
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#6Here is an article about developing the 'perfect' software that runs the shuttle:
"They Write the Right Stuff"
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#7I remember my Digital Circuits prof saying the Apollo Flight Computer was constructed out of thousands of NOR-gates.
At the time I was struggling to comprehend how to construct a basic circuit, so I was wow'd (and still am).
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#8Pretty interesting. Designing the whole system from scratch and being able to remove all unused overhead associated with 'modern' OSs certainly helps being able to fit it all in 1MB.
That, and it was built a few decades ago.
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#9And now it’s going to the junkyard. Together with the shuttles that never lived up to their aspirations. Sad, really.
Re: Space Shuttle computer has 1MB of RAM
#10Here is an article about developing the 'perfect' software that runs the shuttle: "They Write the Right Stuff" http://www.fastcompany.com/node/28121/print
And it's 260 engineers to write 420 KLOC. This is why software is buggy; it's to expensive to make it not buggy.