On Nov 9, 2011, at 12:46 AM, Greg Parker wrote:
> Note that Shuttle missions carried ordinary laptops running ordinary
> operating systems to do the science work other than flying the spacecraft.
> The scientists couldn't afford Shuttle-grade development costs nor
> Shuttle-grade development schedules.
Just a bit of historical trivia. The HP-41C calculator "flew on seven Space
Shuttle missions. It could have been used in an emergency to calculate orbit
and re-entry information if there were failure of the shuttle main computer
systems."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-41C
Another source indicates that two HP-41C calculators were on board Columbia.
One for Center of Gravity and another for Acquisition of Signals.
http://hpinspace.wordpress.com/category/hp-41/
The HP-41C price at introduction in 1979 was $295 which is a testament to the
wonders of capitalism and the free market. I wonder if the Russians are using
any iPhones or iPod touches in their functioning space program?
--Richard
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