This book discusses the various computer used in support of the Apollo lunar missions of the 1960’s-1970’s. We’ll discuss the legendary Apollo Guidance Computer and the other flight computers in the Saturn-V rocket itself. We’ll look at the computer used at the Kennedy Space Center for Launch support, as well as the computers at Mission Control. We will also cover the details of the world-wide tracking and data network. We will also touch on the computer support at the various manufacturer’s and test facilities.

Apollo was built in the era of “big iron” computer mainframes. The concept of an onboard computer for space missions was radically new. There was only one place in the world that could design the Apollo Guidance Computers, and that was MIT. It took most of the U.S.’s production of integrated circuits, another radical idea replacing individual vacuum tubes, to build the AGC’s. It took 2,000 person-years of independent code review and validation to ensure that they would operate properly.

Besides the technical challenge, the Apollo missions were a matter of National Prestige. In the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

This book is a brief synopsis of the architecture and applications of the Apollo computers. There is a lot of archived material on the topic, and the list of references in this book is a good starting point. The amazing thing is, the first computer on another planet was designed and built before computers were commodity items. It worked as planned. Although your phone has more computing power than the entire Saturn vehicle, you shouldn't trust it to get you to the moon and back.