The following article was written by collectSPACE.com contributor Tom Robinson.
When NASA Apollo On the spacecraft launched to the moon, it contained two briefcase-sized computers, which at the time typically required enough space to fill several rooms. These compact devices are small but have enough processing power and memory to guide astronauts from Earth to moon.
Fifty-five years later, British startup Apollo Instruments has been able to shrink the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) even further – to the size of a watch. Now, anyone can wear the display and keyboard system used by astronauts on the command module and lunar module, known as DSKY (pronounced “disk-key”).
The DSKY Moonwatch is not just a novelty timepiece; The wearer can interact with it and fly to the moon like an Apollo astronaut (Rocket and spacecraft not included).
“I started thinking, could you recreate DSKY in Apple Watch size?” Mark Clayton said, apollo instruments corp.CEO. Clayton, an engineer with a passion for aviation and space, was working on miniature digital displays when he noticed the vibrant green light they emitted was strikingly similar to the iconic DSKY displays.
Using original MIT drawings, Clayton and his team, which included two former Formula 1 engineers, began shrinking DSKY’s dimensions.
“We push our manufacturing equipment to its limits to produce such complex and small products,” he said.
Related: The Apollo Project: How NASA put astronauts on the moon
nouns and verbs
Equally revolutionary as the AGC’s small size was the way the Apollo astronauts interacted with it. Rather than carrying thousands of punch cards into space or relying on vast numbers of switches and lights, as computers did at the time, MIT designed the first display and keyboard system and then used it to type in verbs representing verbs and verb number.
For those accustomed to modern point-and-click settings, AGC’s approach may seem difficult to master. Essentially, verbs represent actions that a computer can perform, while nouns represent specific data inputs.
For example, pressing “verb” followed by “35” triggers a test of the lights and display. Verb and noun commands also instructed the Apollo Lunar Module’s computer to begin the landing sequence. Both actions can be replicated on the DSKY Moonwatch.
Verb and noun codes also allow users to adjust the watch’s time, alarm, stopwatch and GPS navigation functions. During the Apollo missions, astronauts used “Memos” to record nearly 200 verbs and nouns. Wearers have a similar guide, so there’s no need to memorize a long list of codes.
“We felt a responsibility to get this right,” Clayton said. “We wanted to create something that the community would embrace and say, ‘This is exactly how we designed it ourselves.'”
Code is preloaded
Five years in the making, Apollo Instruments’ DSKY Moonwatch aims to CopyDSKY board Apollo 11 The lunar module in a 4:6:1 ratio, with the same fonts and color backlighting. The commitment to authenticity extends to matching the original number of bulbs behind each indicator light (three).
The LED light inside the watch typically emits pure white light, lacking the warm glow of DSKY’s original incandescent bulbs. To replicate the precise hues, the team hired multi-Academy Award-winning company Rosco to design custom color filters. “create [DSKY] The Moon Watch presents significant challenges,” Clayton said. “But we want users to experience it the same way the Apollo astronauts experienced the original version.
The watch’s open-source core code is written to be user-friendly and opens up a wide range of possibilities for programmers. This includes porting the original Luminary code, developed by Apollo software director Margaret Hamilton and her team at MIT focused on watches. Enthusiasts can connect the DSKY moon watch to a space simulator on their computer and enter the same commands as on the Apollo 11 mission Neil ArmstrongMike Collins and Buzz Aldrin.
Luminary is the software for the Apollo Lunar Module and contains 40,000 lines of code. During the Apollo 11 landing, The error message starts flashing The system is overloaded with bad radar data.
Because the lunar module used one of the earliest fly-by-wire control systems, Armston’s joystick inputs did not directly control the spacecraft; instead, they were first processed by the computer, making this situation potentially mission-ending. However, the Luminary code was designed to prioritize important tasks, allowing the Apollo computers to dump bad data and ensure a successful landing.
beyond the moon
Museum interpreters and history buffs often like to cite that modern smartphones have more computing power than all of NASA in 1969, or that smart doorbells have the same computing power as the Apollo spacecraft. But this ignores the true power of the Apollo guidance computer. While it can’t match modern devices in terms of raw processing power, it’s very reliable and does the job it was designed to do.
Porting the Luminary code to the DSKY Moonwatch is just one of the ways Clayton envisions people interacting with the watch. “You can upload your own custom code onto it,” he said. “It can be used as a tool for math or physics projects. The possibilities are limited only by the user’s imagination.”
Future innovation in watches will be led by the community. “We are considering using a miniaturized Apollo guidance computer with a custom circuit board to interface with the lunar surface, but we hope the community can guide us on our next steps,” Clayton said.
Related: Lunar Legacy: 45 Apollo Moon Mission Photos
The Apollo Guidance Computer and DSKY were groundbreaking developments in space exploration and computing; without them, the moon landing would not have been possible. For Clayton and his team, the goal of the DSKY Moonwatch was to create a “miniaturized gem”: a wrist-worn replica that captures the Apollo astronaut experience while offering a new spin on traditional designs. use.
DSKY Moonwatch from Apollo Instruments It’s available for pre-order now, with a down payment of £240 (about $300) and a total cost of £649 ($820).
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