Computers in Space: Journeys With Nasa

Rating:
Summary: unique coverage of a key aspect of the space program
Review: So far as I know this is a unique book, covering the history and technology of the space program with respect to computers. Having spent over eighteen years programming computers for space flight, I had to buy this one.

The book starts off topically, first covering the computers that simulate space flight (for the benefit of the astronauts) on the ground, then the computers that control the rockets during flight. After that the approach gets more historical, starting with the mainframe computers that monitor space flight from the ground, then to the computers in the spacecraft along with the astronauts. The latter topic is particularly detailed, covering about a third of the book (four chapters) and going from Mercury through Apollo and onto the space shuttle. Following that are three chapters about the computers that JPL sticks on their deep space missions, again with a historical approach, starting with Mariner and ending with the Galileo mission to Jupiter. It concludes with a brief discussion about the possibilities for the future.

The coverage is detailed, even in some cases describing the basic software architecture of some key programs with both text and diagrams. I found it fascinating to hear how the many challenges of putting a computer on board a spacecraft were met, with the contradictory demands of compactness and reliability, and how the lessons of one project were applied to the next.

A few quibbles, as usual: Nix Olympica was renamed Olympus Mons well before the book was written, and there was only one "Mariner Mars 1971" spacecraft (Mariner 9) because Mariner 8 was destroyed during launch. I am also somewhat aggrieved because there's only the briefest mention of any near-earth orbiting spacecraft and the computers associated with them, something I've spent a career working with.

However, despite those issues, this is still a fascinating and unique (so far as I know) book about a critical but seldom-discussed aspect of the American space program.