It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
(visit the link for the full news article)
It’s true! NASA’s space shuttle is controlled by a computer running on only one megabyte of RAM. How is this possible? Since the space shuttle and all its hardware is over 30 years old, so is its computer. The current computer is actually an upgraded version of the 500-kilobyte computer that was used until 1991, but still based on the same outdated technology from the 1980s.
Originally posted by HappyfeetI like the thinking behind not upgrading the hardware, but I do believe that NASA should consider building a completely new system for a front end, glass cockpit, as well as tearing out some of the old plumbing and wiring in favor of lighter materials and more energy efficient electronics.
Originally posted by ANNED
Can you imagine what the G Forces would do to a standard hard drive.
both the spinning disk and the pickup arm.
Plus you have cosmic rays that are known for corrupting electronics.
this includes ram
It’s true! NASA’s space shuttle is controlled by a computer running on only one megabyte of RAM. How is this possible? Since the space shuttle and all its hardware is over 30 years old, so is its computer. The current computer is actually an upgraded version of the 500-kilobyte computer that was used until 1991, but still based on the same outdated technology from the 1980s.
Originally posted by Vitchilo
The specs of the processor :
Intel 8086
1 Mo maximum of ram compared to today in the 6 GIG to hundreds of GIGS for servers...
4.77 mhz to 10 mhz compared to today world records of 7.2 GHZ...
Made in 3000nm, compared to today 45 and 32nm...
And it had only 29 000 transistors, compared to today chips that have over 2-3 billions...
It’s true: The brain of NASA’s primary vehicle has the computational power of an IBM 5150, that ’80s icon that goes for $20 at yard sales. According to NASA and IBM, the shuttle’s General Purpose Computer (GPC)—which controls, among other things, the entire launch sequence—is an upgrade of the 500-kilobyte computer the shuttle flew with until 1991.
Such an antiquated computer works just fine for NASA. The shuttle doesn’t need to support a powerful graphics engine or create PowerPoint presentations or store MP3s. It focuses entirely on raw functions—thrusters on, thrusters off—which, though mathematically complex, don’t require the juice that a user interface like Windows calls for. The GPC has flown so many missions with hardly a hiccup that there’s no reason to replace it, even if it is just 0.005 percent as powerful as an Xbox 360. Besides, a complete overhaul would be horrendously expensive. The GPC’s software would have to be completely reconfigured for a modern computer and tested until proven flawless.
Originally posted by Happyfeet
I like the thinking behind not upgrading the hardware, but I do believe that NASA should consider building a completely new system for a front end, glass cockpit, as well as tearing out some of the old plumbing and wiring in favor of lighter materials and more energy efficient electronics.