Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight David A. Mindell The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England ( 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 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) without permission in writing from the publisher. For information about special quantity discounts, please email
[email protected] This book was set in Stone Serif and Stone Sans on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mindell, David A. Digital Apollo : human and machine in spaceflight / David A. Mindell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-13497-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Human-machine systems. 2. Project Apollo (U.S.)—History. 3. Astronautics—United States—History. 4. Manned spaceflight—History. I. Title. TA167.M59 2008 629.47 04—dc22 2007032255 10987654321 Index Accelerometers, 1 control and, 19–22 Apollo program and, 97, 109–110, 119, 132, F-80 Shooting Star, 45 174, 194, 201 F-104 Starfighter, 45 AC Spark Plug, 110, 127, 134, 137 SR-71, 45 Adams, Mike, 59–61 stability and, 19–22 Adaptive control systems, 57–61, 77 U-2, 45 AGC (Apollo guidance computer), 259 X-1, 44, 46 Apollo 4 and, 174–175 X-15, 6 (see also X-15) Apollo 5 and, 175 Air-pressure gauges, 24 Apollo 7 and, 177 Aldrin, Edwin ‘‘Buzz,’’ 1–4, 8, 86 astronaut input and, 159 Eagle and, 217–232