Digital Apollo

377 Pages·2008·2.59 MB·English

by  David A. Mindell

Digital Apollo

Digital Apollo:
HumanandMachineinSpaceflight
DavidA.Mindell
TheMITPress
Cambridge,Massachusetts
London,England
(2008MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or
mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval)
withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
Forinformationaboutspecialquantitydiscounts,[email protected]
ThisbookwassetinStoneSerifandStoneSanson3B2byAscoTypesetters,HongKong.
PrintedandboundintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Mindell,DavidA.
DigitalApollo:humanandmachineinspaceflight/DavidA.Mindell.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-262-13497-2(hardcover:alk.paper) 1.Human-machinesystems. 2.ProjectApollo
(U.S.)—History. 3.Astronautics—UnitedStates—History. 4.Mannedspaceflight—History.
I.Title.
TA167.M59 2008
629.4704—dc22 2007032255
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ForPamela,whofliesmetothemoon.

The machine, which at first blush seems a means of isolating man from the great problems of
nature, actually plunges him more deeply into them. As for the peasant, so for the pilot, dawn
andtwilightbecomeeventsofconsequence.
—AntoinedeSaint-Exupe´ry,Wind,SandandStars

Contents
PrefaceandAcknowledgments xi
1 HumanandMachineintheRacetotheMoon 1
2 ChauffeursandAirmenintheAgeofSystems 17
3 FlyingReentry:TheX-15 43
4 AirmeninSpace 65
5 ‘‘Braincaseonthetipofafirecracker’’:ApolloGuidance 95
6 ReliabilityorRepair?TheApolloComputer 123
7 ProgramsandPeople 145
8 DesigningaLanding 181
9 ‘‘Pregnantwithalarm’’:Apollo11 217
10 FiveMoreHandsOn 235
11 Human,Machine,andtheFutureofSpaceflight 263
Notes 273
Glossary 305
Bibliography 307
Index 335
AbouttheCoverImage 361