IBM & NASA's Mercury - Apollo Programs

Mercury needs flight monitoring
- sensor data comes from around the world
- need to project flight trajectory
- "Go for orbit"
- collected at Cape Canaveral in FL
- forwarded to Goddard space flight center in MD

Goddard Space Flight Center, MD
- sensor data comes from around the world
- collected at Cape Canaveral in FL
- forwarded to Goddard

Goddard has two IBM 7090s (main, backup)
- I/O channels are modified
-  "Mercury Monitor" software is developed
- "Trap processor" software monitors incoming data
- Implements the idea of a context switch

Houston Mission Control
- begins operation in mid 60s
- Uses 3 IBM 360/75's (later 5)
- Runs Houston Automatic Spooling Priority (HASP)
- It is a real-time extension of OS 360
- Runs both real time and batch

IBM modifies it equipment for a large government customer.

Paul E. Ceruzzi. A History of Modern Computing (MIT Press, 2000).