The Apollo Missions by David Baker

Author:David Baker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781789504392
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
Published: 2018-12-10T12:37:10+00:00

The Navigation Base was the rigid structure on the side wall of the Command Module, providing a mounting for the Apollo Guidance Computer, the optical assembly consisting of sextant and telescope, the Inertial Measurement Unit, and the display and keyboard assembly into which the operator input measurements.

The digital computer would store and use signals from the guidance platform and sighting angles from the optical assembly to calculate course corrections. With a fixed memory accommodating 38,864 words and an erasable memory containing up to 2,048 words, the computer provided all the information necessary to fly to the Moon and back. It was connected to two display keyboards, one on the wall adjacent to the optical assembly and a second on the main display console in front of the couches. Each contained ten numerical keys labelled 0 to 9, two key signs (+ and -) and seven keys for inserting instructions into the computer: Verb, Noun, Clear, Enter, Proceed, Key Release and Reset.

Numerical data would be fed to the computer via the Verb key, designating the action to be taken, and the Noun key, informing what that action was to be applied to, while the + and - signs indicated decimal values. The Clear key removed data from the displays, successive depressions continuing to clear the other addresses. The Proceed key would instruct the computer to hold on standby, or if already on standby to go ahead with normal operations. The Key Release function would wipe the illuminated display of the last entered numbers and show information from the computer programme. The Enter key told the computer to accept the numerical instructions, and Reset would clear the address.

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