Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
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Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
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Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#2This is another good read about using automated terrain mapping for cruise missile guidance systems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TERCOM
Notably how it fit on older computer systems with limited memory by only sampling the terrain using a predefined path which a plane will travel over with imaging sensors beforehand. For minutemen style systems with predefined targets it would work well as the terrain won’t change significantly and there will be plenty of sampling data to support a high error rate and/or a relatively low resolution while moving at high speeds.
Of course it increased in quality and effectiveness over time (especially as whole topographical maps could eventually be stored, not just the path in question) but as an entirely ‘unguided’ rocket it seems to be relatively accurate for its era.
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#3GM/Delco were very diverse in manufacturing, so I'm not surprised that they also made missile components at one point. At one time they owned Frigidaire too.
Motorola made "MTTL II" which had 20xx part numbers for commercial temperature range and 21xx for industrial/military, so these could be Signetics' variant of that. In the late 60s through the 70s semiconductor companies made lots of different logic families.
I've always found it a bit sad that the ultimate purpose of things like this was for destruction.
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#4This is another good read about using automated terrain mapping for cruise missile guidance systems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TERCOM Notably how it fit on older computer systems with limited memory by only sampling the terrain using a predefined path which a plane will travel over with imaging sensors beforehand. For minutemen style systems with predefined targets it would work well as the terrain won’t change s…
Isn't it an example of a highly guided missile?
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#5GM/Delco were very diverse in manufacturing, so I'm not surprised that they also made missile components at one point. At one time they owned Frigidaire too. Motorola made "MTTL II" which had 20xx part numbers for commercial temperature range and 21xx for industrial/military, so these could be Signetics' variant of that. In the late 60s through the 70s semiconductor companies made lots of different logic families. I'…
Thanks for the part number info; that's a good lead and I'll see if I can track anything down.
As far as your last point, I basically agree. This computer, though, is not quite as bad as it could be. It was a later, 1970s model originally designed for the Titan IIIC rocket to put satellites into space, a more positive role. It was also closely based on the Carousel IV commercial navigation system used for aircraft such as the Boeing 747, which is a nice heartwarming application.
Edit: the Motorola 21xx parts have the wrong pinout, e.g. ground on pin 10 vs 11. And many of the numbers don't exist as Motorola parts. Unfortunately, I don't think these are the right parts, although it seems so close.
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#6I visited the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, AZ, where you can see the control room from which the missile could have been launched.
> At launch, orders from the National Command Authority would have specified one of three pre-programmed targets which, for security reasons, were unknown to the crew. ... Target 2, which is classified to this day but was assumed to be within the borders of the former Soviet Union, was designated as a ground burst, suggesting that the target was a hardened facility such as a Soviet missile base. [Wikipedia]
While explaining this, my tour guide showed some punched tape that could be fed into a computer to program the targets. I wonder if the tape was original, and if so, how difficult it would be to decode its coordinates.
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#7I was just thinking, imagine trying to use a modern-day smartphone for this. So much complexity how could you be sure the missile would even get off the ground. There is a big advantage to systems that engineers can mostly "keep in their heads". Very few systems are that way these days.
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#8I visited the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, AZ, where you can see the control room from which the missile could have been launched. > At launch, orders from the National Command Authority would have specified one of three pre-programmed targets which, for security reasons, were unknown to the crew. ... Target 2, which is classified to this day but was assumed to be within the borders of the former Soviet Union, was…
Yes, the Titan museum is very interesting and I recommend it.
I wondered the same thing about the punched tape, if I could extract the coordinates from it. I read somewhere that they were extremely strict about keeping the targets secret; before any maintenance on the computer, a special team came in just to ensure that the coordinates were erased from memory. It would have been a huge oversight if they didn't encrypt the punched tape, so my guess is that it can't be decoded.
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#9If you're interested in the history of the Titan missile program and US nuclear program in general I recommend "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety".
Re: Inside a Titan missile guidance computer
#10If you're interested in the history of the Titan missile program and US nuclear program in general I recommend "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety".
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0143125788/ (Amazon)
https://archive.org/details/commandcontrol00eric (OpenLibrary)