Restorers Try to Get Lunar Module Guidance Computer Up and Running | WSJ

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  • Опубликовано: 10 сен 2019
  • In 1976 in a warehouse in Texas, Jimmie Loocke bought two tons of scrapped NASA equipment. Years later he realized it included a computer from an Apollo lunar module, like the one used to guide the lander to the surface of the moon during Apollo 11. Fifty years after that mission, computer restoration experts in Silicon Valley are trying to get his computer working again.
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Комментарии • 3,4 тыс.

  • @moondancer6852
    @moondancer6852 4 года назад +1819

    For reasons passing understanding, this video falsely asserts that they did it all in two weeks, which really undersells just how much effort this crew went through. It took MONTHS of work. The first video in the series Marc did came out Nov 13, 2018
    and the final working run wasn't posted until Jul 16, 2019. The whole team did an amazing job, over a long period of time.

    • @Wizardofgosz
      @Wizardofgosz 3 года назад +119

      Yup. Karl built an Arduino based DSKY clone (seen in this video). Marc's company REMANUFACTURED pins and connectors necessary to interface with it, from original blueprints. Mike has been tirelessly archiving, finding, and saving the various software versions the various missions flew. Sadly, some might remain lost to time, but Mike will leave no stone unturned.
      Truly astounding work from some really smart people.

    • @crosstian
      @crosstian Год назад +38

      Lol thanks WSJ, quality journalism

    • @OptimusWombat
      @OptimusWombat Год назад +17

      @@crosstian it's owned by Rupert Murdochs' News Corp. What do you expect?

    • @voornaam3191
      @voornaam3191 Год назад +17

      Seen a video of women weaving the ROM memory modules. In these years your fingers could touch the individual bits of the operating system. Rome was not built in one year.

    • @voornaam3191
      @voornaam3191 Год назад +1

      @@Wizardofgosz And when they really complete this project, they can go to Cape Carnivoral (or what was it) and launch that thing again. How cool is that?

  • @MLGxBXRxPRO
    @MLGxBXRxPRO 4 года назад +2116

    The brain power in that room is freaking impressive. I felt dumb just watching

    • @jamesaustralian9829
      @jamesaustralian9829 4 года назад +27

      When it comes to real hands on work I doubt any of them could fix a leaking tap or change a tyre on a car.

    • @MLGxBXRxPRO
      @MLGxBXRxPRO 4 года назад +142

      @@jamesaustralian9829 id rather have their smarts than what i have now i can change a motor on any car but would love to have their smarts.

    • @kennylex
      @kennylex 4 года назад +135

      You can compensate by watching a flat-earth video, that make everyone feel smarter.

    • @drvonschwartz
      @drvonschwartz 4 года назад +85

      @@jamesaustralian9829 This is "real hands on work"

    • @travispratt6327
      @travispratt6327 4 года назад +73

      James Australian What’s your point? Even if they didn’t they could learn very easily... I work on electronics and I work on cars and currently I am a handyman doing odd jobs, the only difference is electronics requires much more thinking and figuring out and following complex mapping. Working with cars or houses or what you seem to think is “hands on” is the same as electronics without the complex mapping and whatnot. You still have to take apart, fix, solder, replace parts, all the stuff you do with cars and houses.

  • @charlesbeaudry3263
    @charlesbeaudry3263 Год назад +15

    This computer is absolutey priceless. Congratulations to the whole team.

  • @asten8049
    @asten8049 4 года назад +44

    It couldn't had ended up in better hands. Well done guys. You saved this piece of history from the junkyard. You can all be very proud of yourselves!!!

  • @Mike_Davidson
    @Mike_Davidson 4 года назад +1925

    *2 KB worth of RAM and a 4 MHz CPU landed Apollo 11 on the moon. It's really hard to comprehend that in 2019.* 😂😂😂😂

    • @anthonyc4138
      @anthonyc4138 4 года назад +26

      Lol yep

    • @candykanefpv98
      @candykanefpv98 4 года назад +79

      AL Ian my computer has 8 million times more ram and 1250x the clock speed.

    • @Mike_Davidson
      @Mike_Davidson 4 года назад +113

      @@candykanefpv98 I'm thinking it could get you to Alpha Centauri then. 😂😂😂

    • @TheNefastor
      @TheNefastor 4 года назад +145

      I've recently had the misfortune of cleaning up embedded C code written by 2019 graduates who only know Python. Yeah, to such kids, I'm sure 2 KB is way too little... don't tell them it's all you really need if you're going to navigate to another planet, they'd have nightmares.

    • @candykanefpv98
      @candykanefpv98 4 года назад +28

      @@TheNefastor I have no doubt that some of the smaller rockets that are sent into space have about the computing power of my TV. Possibly with a raspberry pi like computer with a mobile chip.

  • @nickygee5611
    @nickygee5611 4 года назад +416

    It's so awesome that he chose to restore the AGC. He easily could have just auctioned it off, made a couple hundred grand and called it a day. Taking the time and effort to get it up and running makes the whole thing just so much cooler.

    • @marktrick100
      @marktrick100 Год назад +22

      Money means nothing at their age

    • @niklasdahlgren7641
      @niklasdahlgren7641 Год назад +19

      Money is fleeting, making history is eternal.

    • @anandchundi6805
      @anandchundi6805 Год назад +7

      Yeah because now he can auction it off for more and he paid nothing to have it repaired

    • @slycooper1001
      @slycooper1001 Год назад +7

      this is why my mom thinks my plans to restore a 1st gen dell professional computer and dell branded crt is silly
      since the computer is literally 32 years old runs ms-dos and has only 3 and 5 inch floppy drives
      and the crt would have shipped with the computer but is currently a paper weight due to the h.o.t. burning out
      i need to take a crt apart and de-electrify the picture tube as i do a full deep clean and repair the horizontal output transistor and diagnose any other issues with it before i can actually start using that computer with that old old screen from 1992

    • @andrewkaminskas7721
      @andrewkaminskas7721 Год назад +2

      @@slycooper1001 cool story dude

  • @aerospacematt9147
    @aerospacematt9147 Год назад +164

    I’d love to see them hook up a control stick and run it as a simulation on a modern computer so that someone can manually “land on the moon” using the AGC. That would be so cool!

    • @Apofoo
      @Apofoo Год назад

      They did it ! : ruclips.net/video/r_eBGSe5zEQ/видео.html

    • @threebuddies
      @threebuddies Год назад +14

      CuriousMarc's video Apollo Guidance Computer Part 23: Flying the Apollo 11 Moon Landing with the Original AGC Code and part 24 does this.

    • @360Fov
      @360Fov Год назад +3

      @@threebuddies Nice dude, thanks!

    • @SEELE-ONE
      @SEELE-ONE 7 месяцев назад +8

      Yeah! Like one of those Logitech controllers used to steer submarines!

    • @DavidBcc
      @DavidBcc 6 месяцев назад +1

      You'd need to hook it up to Stanley Kubrick's camera dollies in order for it to reproduce the moon-landing.

  • @freguerfont4768
    @freguerfont4768 Год назад +17

    It hurts me that such historical artifacts ended up as scrap instead of in a museum or a historical collection but, on the other hand, it may had been this that made it possible for this computer to end up in the right hands after all, and I'm happy it did!

  • @freedayfamily9974
    @freedayfamily9974 4 года назад +764

    And today you have people with the latest smartphones and still believe that the earth is flat.

    • @CMWeaver
      @CMWeaver 4 года назад +22

      lego and slime family * still believe we lost the technology to leave low earth orbit

    • @tomo8324
      @tomo8324 4 года назад +16

      @@CMWeaver no, they would say that we destroyed it cuz nasa bla bla bla conspiracy stuffs

    • @TheEagleofSteel
      @TheEagleofSteel 4 года назад +3

      You should listen to Alex Jones. The whole thing is a liberal conspiracy.

    • @jamestor6700
      @jamestor6700 4 года назад +3

      @@CMWeaver what do you call the ISS? pretty sure thats low earth orbit

    • @jamestor6700
      @jamestor6700 4 года назад +34

      @@TheEagleofSteel Alex Jones is one of the dumbest people you could listen to

  • @mcitheaterclass537
    @mcitheaterclass537 4 года назад +458

    I'm surprised it didn't churn for a long time and then spit out a response: "42."

    • @davidlewis1787
      @davidlewis1787 4 года назад +13

      You’re really not going to like it

    • @QuasarRedshift
      @QuasarRedshift 4 года назад +13

      no, but it did generate a '404 Error' . . . (lol)

    • @OzziePete1
      @OzziePete1 4 года назад

      THAT would be so Zen.....Like a perfect circle response.

    • @dT6E7hmja4iXjsJw
      @dT6E7hmja4iXjsJw 4 года назад +7

      Well, if it was allowed to run for 10 million years straight, perhaps it would.

    • @ut000bs
      @ut000bs 4 года назад +27

      “'You know,' said Arthur, 'it’s at times like this, when I’m trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I’d listened to what my mother told me when I was young.'
      'Why, what did she tell you?'
      'I don’t know, I didn’t listen.'"

  • @georgeclarke3333
    @georgeclarke3333 8 месяцев назад +4

    I started working on circuit boards in the 80s but found it advantageous to look back at previous designs to understand current designs of circuits. It’s best not to trash old equipment once it’s gone it’s gone.

  • @CIS101
    @CIS101 8 месяцев назад +5

    Even just getting it cleaned up, performing repairs, and diagnostics is an achievement.

  • @525Lines
    @525Lines 4 года назад +525

    I watched every bit of the videos they posted about the restoration. Amazingly interesting stuff. Hearing the programs were gone, nothing could run it, nobody knew nothing about nothing, so gratifying to see the restoration bring together the programmers and run the program.

    • @jgordon7719
      @jgordon7719 4 года назад +18

      I wish they would have recapped going to the history museum to get a working piece of test software, the only machine known to have it

    • @525Lines
      @525Lines 4 года назад +17

      @@jgordon7719 I forget if they went to more than one museum but there are data carts that still hold the programs 50 years later. One of the programmers had several of them.

    • @jgordon7719
      @jgordon7719 4 года назад +2

      Sure in isolation I'm sure that's true

    • @theannoyedmrfloyd3998
      @theannoyedmrfloyd3998 4 года назад +12

      They got a chance to see read the other program memory modules.

    • @525Lines
      @525Lines 4 года назад +6

      @@theannoyedmrfloyd3998 Don't know about the air and space museum but they've tried several memory modules including from at least one museum. I'm assuming they backed up the data of everything they tried.

  • @personwhotalkstomuch4898
    @personwhotalkstomuch4898 4 года назад +277

    It still amazes me that something so complex at the time was the start of the computer tech that we now take for granted. To me it seems unbelieveable that our mobile phones contain more circuits & processing power etc than the ones that actually landed man on the Moon. Congratulations to Marc & his team for preserving a very special part of exploration history.

    • @chrisvig123
      @chrisvig123 2 года назад +24

      These computers were actually very simplistic devices…sophisticated for the time maybe but even a scientific calculator from the 80’s is far more powerful 😯

    • @Chris_at_Home
      @Chris_at_Home Год назад +8

      @@chrisvig123 The progress in electronics is amazing. I first worked in a TV repair shop in 1969 as a kid 16yo and except for a few years I worked in electronics and communications my whole work career.
      My Dad worked on building the Apollo fuel cells

    • @PeterKocic
      @PeterKocic Год назад +6

      Your normal Texas Instrument-82 school calculator had more juice,,, your smart phone is light years ahead of this.

    • @TheBrainn
      @TheBrainn Год назад +6

      That’s such an understatement, the integrated technology in your digital watch is more advanced than this very brick that got man on the moon.

    • @TamponTea
      @TamponTea Год назад +8

      we never went to the moon

  • @brandona1370
    @brandona1370 4 года назад +18

    I watched this series on Marc's RUclips channel from day one and it was an incredible journey!! The series has some incredible moments and absolutely worth checking out. As a space tech enthusiast, I wish I had enough brain power to have had even a small part in this project.

  • @deirdreorourke8631
    @deirdreorourke8631 Год назад +9

    Big thanks to Jimmie Locke for finding and taking care of this computer, and to CuriousMarc for producing such an amazing series about the restoration

  • @itubeutubewealltube1
    @itubeutubewealltube1 4 года назад +152

    When androids rule the world they will be thankful and, therefore, merciful to their organic creators for keeping alive their ancestors.

    • @sheldonspock5566
      @sheldonspock5566 4 года назад +2

      haha!

    • @kimjong-un4411
      @kimjong-un4411 4 года назад +6

      Dude that’s heavy

    • @biblebadcopycatofcuneiform8210
      @biblebadcopycatofcuneiform8210 4 года назад +4

      "When androids rule the world they will be thankful and, therefore, merciful to their organic creators for keeping alive their ancestors."
      Haha! "Gratitude" is a human invention for organized religious reasons of control. Androids won't rule the world, but also...they won't deal in gratitude. Gratitude is learned from other people, not coded. I also get your humor and smiled.

    • @mikkel066h
      @mikkel066h 4 года назад

      Michael T it was a joke you idiot....

    • @teemuleppa3347
      @teemuleppa3347 4 года назад

      @@mikkel066h read his comment fully......oh, almost forgot: you idiot! .... learn some basic human interaction

  • @glidershower
    @glidershower 4 года назад +157

    The past must be studied in order to understand our present and then plan for our future.
    Old tech is always a humbling kick right in the commodity of what we take for granted!

    • @glidershower
      @glidershower 4 года назад +12

      @Oliver Williamson The single purpose of history is exactly that, to see beyond our own life, to share the experiences of the many that were here before us, and to ensure our progress does not get reset generation after generation.
      To claim something is fake because you cannot see it by your own eyes is to not appreciate human consciousness.

    • @alexhawkins1795
      @alexhawkins1795 4 года назад +6

      Well said Mr. Binary.

    • @glidershower
      @glidershower 4 года назад +3

      @Oliver Williamson That's one blue pill/suppository I always managed to dodge.
      Don't trascend, friend.

    • @glidershower
      @glidershower 4 года назад +2

      @Oliver Williamson Solipsism is a literal slippery mind slope.

    • @Mrsmifff
      @Mrsmifff 4 года назад +3

      Mate I'm surprised our species hasn't wiped itself out with the over abundance of mindless sheep fueling the rich and powerful.

  • @mehdisol7094
    @mehdisol7094 Год назад +3

    i am so disapointed that nasa discarded those computer after the mission and not keeping them in a museum for everyone to see

  • @ScubaAnt72
    @ScubaAnt72 3 года назад +7

    So glad these guys are preserving this amazing machine! To have it power up and run after such a long time is an amazing achievement.

  • @JMNTLRDRX
    @JMNTLRDRX 4 года назад +1423

    Our modern computers have tons of memory and CPU speed, just to watch porn and memes.

    • @RiXFortuna
      @RiXFortuna 4 года назад +85

      Indeed, and that highlights human genius and stupidity altogether

    • @turdfergusonnwo
      @turdfergusonnwo 4 года назад +24

      Dang Jose , how many names you need ?

    • @mssedmebich1621
      @mssedmebich1621 4 года назад +40

      You say that like it's a Bad Thing.

    • @julian.castro18
      @julian.castro18 4 года назад

      @@mssedmebich1621 right?

    • @egeniojaramillo9048
      @egeniojaramillo9048 4 года назад +14

      Umm, what? You’re just going to forget cats and cat related media???

  • @donmoore7785
    @donmoore7785 4 года назад +112

    This was a thoroughly fascinating project. I watched all the videos. Simply amazing. When they powered up the computer memory, and recovered the last state of the computer in magnetic memory - including the latitude and longitude - you felt like you were there 50 years ago. A very impressive achievement. This was most deserving of being featured by WSJ - it is very inspirational for our creators of the future.

    • @Roach_Dogg_JR
      @Roach_Dogg_JR Год назад +3

      Love that it goes right back to doings it’s job, even though it’s 50 years later. The little computer just does it’s job no questions asked

  • @philmayf
    @philmayf 3 года назад +57

    I remember following along with the progress on Marc's channel. It's such an interesting trip through reverse engineering with some heavyweights. Ken Shirriff is such a titan of reversing silicon that it's crazy. It's amazing they sussed out the inner workings and managed to make it work at all.

  • @666Eidolon666
    @666Eidolon666 4 года назад +13

    When they turn on the guidance system... suddenly the lunar lander in the National Air and Space Museum fires up and starts flying around randomly :D

  • @tomservo5007
    @tomservo5007 4 года назад +67

    CuriousMarc's video series on this was a nail bitter --- every video was gold and I couldn't wait for the next one. The last video was so satisfying.

  • @ideafix13
    @ideafix13 4 года назад +30

    I'm an electronic professor from Barcelona and I explain the students what is the AGC and show them the schematics. I wish they are fascinated as me!!! Thank you.

    • @jesusalfredofernandezcruz1833
      @jesusalfredofernandezcruz1833 4 года назад +3

      La "old lady" memory o la ROM hecha a costura, una de las responsables de que el AGC, pidiera sobrevivir a dos impactos de relámpagos y a la sobrecarga dada por el radar de aproximación lunar, se podía apagar y encender sin perder sus últimos datos de trabajo. Dios!!,quisieras que las computadoras de hoy tuvieran ese nivel de confiabilidad, como con el AGC alguna vez tuvo.
      Saludos.

    • @drummonkeystuffuk1875
      @drummonkeystuffuk1875 4 года назад

      THe schem drawings would be like a magnet to me..i love techno stuff like this!

    • @azerty20492
      @azerty20492 4 года назад

      La tecnología que fue creada a mano fue impresionante . Aunque nada a cambiado no existe otra technologia . Lo impresionante es ver como todos esos cables se cruzan entre si.

  • @honkhonk8009
    @honkhonk8009 7 месяцев назад +8

    This is the rare Wall Street Journal video that isnt complete BRAINROT.
    I really like the narrator imo.
    WSJ should keep this team around. They have a knack for finding quality content.

  • @shawnmurdock8059
    @shawnmurdock8059 Год назад +4

    This is fantastic. I am glad I found it. THanks guys for restoring this awesome piece of history. Hard to believe that all that equipment would "fit" into a simple chip today.

  • @capablanca5611
    @capablanca5611 4 года назад +8

    I am an enthusiast of the Apollo missions. I love to see a group of sinior gentlemen dedicated with passion to recover the past for the next generations. I congratulate you and wish you success and recognition in this noble venture.

    • @MrDaiseymay
      @MrDaiseymay 4 года назад +1

      get your medication checked out

  • @TechWithBabak
    @TechWithBabak 4 года назад +6

    What a noble challenge: putting the effort to preserve for future generations this computer system and hard wired programming.

  • @MikeKobb
    @MikeKobb Год назад +2

    I watched every one of Marc's videos. It was an incredible achievement, and one that I hope will be celebrated for years.

  • @SAMZIRRA
    @SAMZIRRA Год назад +1

    This is really cool! I am feeling so excited watching their smiles as they powered it back up.

  • @dbaider9467
    @dbaider9467 4 года назад +12

    That man is a true Patriot. What an irreplaceable gift he has bestowed.

  • @larryscott3982
    @larryscott3982 4 года назад +82

    Hey WSJ, help get a 2 hr PBS NOVA documentary going.
    Marc’s multipart restoration video series is award winning.
    And pair his vids with contemporary documentary films. It’s worth it!!

    • @jgordon7719
      @jgordon7719 4 года назад +1

      Unfortunately I don't think the public has the attention span. But I absolutely love the series, and his RUclips channel

    • @larryscott3982
      @larryscott3982 4 года назад +4

      J Gordon
      Not the public at large, but s subset.
      Look how popular Curious Marc’s AGC restoration series is. And with a creative intro interest to a significant audience exists.

    • @jgordon7719
      @jgordon7719 4 года назад +2

      @@larryscott3982 another great series was the Xerox alto. These are life changing technological Marvel's in history that I feel like almost nobody knows about

    • @larryscott3982
      @larryscott3982 4 года назад

      J Gordon
      Marc’s vids are really engaging.

    • @darkpepsi
      @darkpepsi 4 года назад

      I agree after last year’s Nova episode of Apollo’s Daring Mission.

  • @paulkocyla1343
    @paulkocyla1343 6 месяцев назад +6

    Beeing a space engineer, I got a tear in my eyes after each episode.
    It´s an important and great achievement that those guys have done.

  • @24kRobot
    @24kRobot 4 года назад +2

    This is awesome! A team of hobbyists who are professionals from different generations.

  • @MrLathor
    @MrLathor 4 года назад +8

    Really cool that a guy like Jimmie managed to find that computer. What cool project!

  • @francoismonast4186
    @francoismonast4186 4 года назад +12

    Good job, thank's for preserving a
    great part of space exploration history.

  • @swafflemanish
    @swafflemanish 3 года назад +1

    This is so cool. Brought a little tear to my eye. My grandfather worked for nasa back in the day, they lived in Huntsville then.

  • @bvrod
    @bvrod 19 дней назад

    Thanks for those that took the challenging restoration adventure and shared with us. As a lay person that used to program Motorola R2 kits using JBUG back in late 70’s I get an immense sense of pride of human ingenuity from those that built these things in those pioneering days. Just truly amazing what people can achieve when put to a common task.

  • @stevedoubleu99B
    @stevedoubleu99B 4 года назад +5

    Remarkable, what a worthwhile project. Well done guys.

  • @MarcelHuguenin
    @MarcelHuguenin 4 года назад +49

    Nice to see this video about the project. Sad to read so many comments of people who don't know what they are saying instead of informing themselves. Obviously, I watched the whole series of videos on Curiousmarc's channel and as so many people who comment here I couldn't wait for the next one. This was an amazing project by Marc and his team and to quote Jimmy Loocke: "I hope many people will be able to see this computer many years from now".

    • @ciuzdamm
      @ciuzdamm 4 года назад

      Sad to read your comment: just because you watched the whole series of Curiousmarc doesn't make you well informed.

    • @0623kaboom
      @0623kaboom 4 года назад +3

      even the series didnt cover all the tech .... but it did highlight a load of it ... I think the best part of was the MIT old video of the ladies assembling the memory cores and rom for it ... BY HAND

    • @erikbakker1531
      @erikbakker1531 4 года назад +3

      "Two hundred years from now I want people te see this computer."
      That sentence was beautiful. I hope that one day, around the year 2219, some people will say: "Thank you. We will take good care of it."
      (And then again, in 2419, etc 🙂)

    • @MarcelHuguenin
      @MarcelHuguenin 4 года назад

      Erik Bakker precies!

    • @looneytoons2878
      @looneytoons2878 Год назад +1

      All that brain power to fake the moon landing's impressive

  • @toddb930
    @toddb930 4 года назад +4

    I'm impressed that the young guy was willing to learn the restrictions the designers had in the 60's. Those guys had to work at the lowest levels to get those pieces working. And no compilers to transfer a high level programming language into a binary representation the electronics could understand.
    I started working with electronics in the early 70's. This video brought back memories.

  • @jtr549
    @jtr549 4 года назад +7

    What a legend, the value of all this stuff will be insane in 200 years, so strange how they were just throwing this stuff away in the 70's.

  • @Republic3D
    @Republic3D 4 года назад +17

    I'd love to have a replica of this. Powered by Rasberry Pii or something similar. Lots of companies make components for flight simulator cockpits and so on, so maybe one of them could try to make a Lunar Module Guidence Computer replica. Just the interface part of course.

  • @patrickguinnane
    @patrickguinnane 4 года назад +5

    I loved learning about Core Rope Memory after watching the other videos...so cool

  • @robleary3353
    @robleary3353 Год назад +8

    Nice one!. I can remember being a young boy in the late seventies going with my father to work on several weekends, they were working on one of the first computerised credit card systems in the UK, possibly the first kn the world (waits for gnashing of teeth etc, have the dates of it going live). They were writing code on machines that only had 32k of memory, it took half of that to get them going.... They did it, I still have the keyring Dad got from IBM (a 'failed' memory chip) encased in plastic after a business trip to the USA to get the kit needed. This kind of kit needs to be preserved!. I might add, my first home computer only had 64k of ram in the eighties... Gòod on you!.

  • @robertphillips6296
    @robertphillips6296 Год назад +1

    Thank You for posting this!

  • @jackmacdonald8499
    @jackmacdonald8499 4 года назад +4

    I watched the entire series of restoration videos without understanding the backstory presented in the wsj video. Marc's series is a must watch for any computer geek.

    • @MrDaiseymay
      @MrDaiseymay 4 года назад

      ran out of detective books?

  • @monsterq6
    @monsterq6 4 года назад +18

    What an inspiring story of unlikely heroes. Kudos to all these guys for recognizing the culturally significant items and doing such great work. Very great story. I also love how they came together in a quasi-u official guerilla style. Super cool. Reminded me of oceans 11 haha.

  • @codingvio7383
    @codingvio7383 7 месяцев назад +2

    This guidance computer shows how innovative and ahead of its time this computer was. It also demonstrates how the experts managed to build something that nobody can really recreate due to it's complexity.

  • @stephenconway2468
    @stephenconway2468 Год назад +1

    Bravo. We need people like this.

  • @stitcherlives
    @stitcherlives 4 года назад +9

    CuriousMarc is the channel and if you watched this you NEED to watch the full restoration over there pronto. Amazing job.

  • @Domequike
    @Domequike 4 года назад +44

    5:34 - is this Scott Manley there in the left??

    • @spinningjenny1629
      @spinningjenny1629 4 года назад +6

      Yes also made a video about the restauration

    • @Domequike
      @Domequike 4 года назад +2

      @@spinningjenny1629 nice, thanks

  • @johnabbottphotography
    @johnabbottphotography Год назад +11

    I was watching the channel when they first started trying to diagnose it.
    The levels of difficulty that they had to deal with are dumbfounding; everything from building their own interfaces to interact with the computer, to creating software that would recreate the "mission" and feed data into the Apollo modules.
    And that was AFTER they had to do things as simple as figuring out which parts of the computer were which; because these are computer parts that any normal tech would be able to recognize.

  • @jeffcanyafixiy
    @jeffcanyafixiy Год назад

    Just tremendous that this piece of history was not only saved but they were brilliant enough to restore it. BRAVO!! 👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸

  • @macbuff81
    @macbuff81 4 года назад +11

    And now many of us hold the equivalent of supercomputers in our hands every day. Very cool to think how quickly computers have and are still advancing.

    • @lepterfirefall
      @lepterfirefall Год назад +2

      And we use them to watch videos of piano playing cats....the tech has advanced but have we?

    • @administratioization
      @administratioization 9 месяцев назад

      ​@@lepterfirefallit has made us lazy and take things for granted

  • @Mucho-Taco
    @Mucho-Taco 4 года назад +107

    Maybe now we can go back to the moon

    • @ggcoralez
      @ggcoralez 4 года назад +2

      For the 11th time? Why?

    • @brianharrigan8821
      @brianharrigan8821 4 года назад +3

      HAHAHA !!! The "DREAM !!!

    • @johannesbekker1970
      @johannesbekker1970 4 года назад +10

      Gotta find another Kubrick first lol

    • @ussling
      @ussling 4 года назад

      "Apollo 18" explains why we never went back to the Moon.

    • @throwaway80345
      @throwaway80345 4 года назад

      @Luna EB | Wait some years, they will land with the SLS in 2024.

  • @nicolemellott1983
    @nicolemellott1983 5 месяцев назад

    keep up the great work restoring these gems of history Thank you

  • @Nighthawke70
    @Nighthawke70 4 года назад +7

    Along with the AGC hardware, the advent of software came into being as well. The term "software engineer" was coined by the MIT team.

  • @fugamante
    @fugamante 4 года назад +18

    #HumansAreAwesome
    Thank you guys for tackling such a beautiful endeavor.

  • @jg5875
    @jg5875 Год назад +5

    Love this. It’s geeks (in a good way) like them that drive innovation and make the world a better place 👍🏻

  • @ChakatNightspark
    @ChakatNightspark Год назад +1

    Just some info. Apollo 11's onboard guidance computer had a processing speed of 1 MHz, and had about 4 kilobytes of reusable memory. The original Nintendo Game Boy, released in 1989 a mere 20 years after the first moon landing, was four times faster at 4MHz and had double the memory.

  • @adamhuffman3354
    @adamhuffman3354 6 месяцев назад +1

    So neat! Nice piece of history restored! Great video!

  • @speedomars3869
    @speedomars3869 Год назад +18

    In 1969 a computer like that would have filled the basement of a skyscraper. It would have needed a raised floor for cooling..This device was ten years ahead of its time in an era when a single years advancement doubled processing power. IC chips were invented in 1961 but there was no single chip computer, that did not happen until 1971 at Intel. The machine they are playing with is a nugget of technology. VERY HISTORIC.

    • @kishascape
      @kishascape Год назад

      Lol no it wouldn’t have. Innovative sure but you’re way overselling it and even for the 60s already 20 years out of date.

    • @speedomars3869
      @speedomars3869 Год назад +1

      @@kishascape Sure. You were around, right? I was working on IBM mainframes in 1968. What were you doing?

  • @brennanlangless8912
    @brennanlangless8912 Год назад +3

    A round of applause for jimmy loocke and Marc and everyone else who have the drive to restore our historic technology artifacts

  • @12LoLproductions
    @12LoLproductions 6 месяцев назад

    I’m glad there’s people like this in the world

  • @james94582
    @james94582 6 месяцев назад

    This is awesome... Regardless of how long it took to get up and running, it is cool to see how something so old and now days outdated could do such monumental task and be such a big part of history

  • @Odin31b
    @Odin31b 4 года назад +67

    What's the channel mentioned in this video? WSJ doesn't link.

    • @Effectlife
      @Effectlife 4 года назад +41

      Curiousmarc

    • @donmoore7785
      @donmoore7785 4 года назад +5

      @@Strothy2 There is no need to be rude and flame the guy asking for help, is there? Imagine if the people in the video were like that - there would be no project like this. They would be working in Wallsmart and happy to be there. Do you work at Wallsmart? It seems that *you* can't write - it is shown "what" it is called, not "how".

    • @Ergzay
      @Ergzay 4 года назад +8

      ruclips.net/channel/UC3bosUr3WlKYm4sBaLs-Adw
      CuriousMarc

    • @0623kaboom
      @0623kaboom 4 года назад +1

      just google making the agc work ... they have many video's on it ... and it is a very interesting set of vid's to watch .... even shows early memory ... the bane of all tech's back then

    • @airleclair
      @airleclair 4 года назад

      @@Effectlife Scott Manley was in the video, so he may have something on his as well.

  • @magnacartasamadams8189
    @magnacartasamadams8189 4 года назад +18

    The funny thing is a car made in the early 90s has more computer processing power

    • @pvtpeppers6176
      @pvtpeppers6176 4 года назад +6

      @Magna Carta Sam Adam's- yeah and a 1980s cash register had more computing power.

    • @magnacartasamadams8189
      @magnacartasamadams8189 4 года назад +6

      @@pvtpeppers6176 The funny thing is too if you can work on a car and repair one that's fairly modern you're the equivalent of a rocket scientist from the 1960s and 70s

    • @Republic3D
      @Republic3D 4 года назад +6

      @@magnacartasamadams8189 To be fair, these days you can just plug in a laptop and run diagnosis on the system. That hardly qualifies you as a rocket scientist. The scientists in the 60s and 70s built the rocket, the spaceships, the computers and the simulators from scratch. And by doing that forwarded our computer tech by at least a decade.

  • @13bigerdave
    @13bigerdave 3 года назад +1

    those guy's are AWESOME I don't really understand a lot of what they are doing , but it is so cool to watch them bring the old equipment back to life ,,,, I feel like Penny on The Big Bang watching them 😁

  • @martinfinn674
    @martinfinn674 Год назад +1

    Great work guys. Your names should go down in history. For the computer restoration work you have done, and for the legacy of the Apollo program.
    The data on these computers is a record of history.
    This is one step for computer restoration, and one giant leap for human history in space.

  • @MjrNiGhTmArE
    @MjrNiGhTmArE 4 года назад +15

    I’m happy that this was found and saved! So much critical history has been lost or trashed.

  • @goosefraba2385
    @goosefraba2385 4 года назад +10

    0:28 can't be unseen...

  • @eduardo_fivem
    @eduardo_fivem 8 месяцев назад

    This bring tears from my eyes.

  • @muefive
    @muefive 3 года назад

    Everyone is born with brilliance.....what a great team!

  • @SandBoxJohn
    @SandBoxJohn 4 года назад +3

    Thank you Wall Street Journal for broadening the awareness of this restoration project.

  • @jaydavis6558
    @jaydavis6558 4 года назад +4

    Many years ago I met a Radiologist in New York that had a flight computer from the Apollo project. His name was Dr.Hori a Japanese American.

  • @JTCgmail9
    @JTCgmail9 3 года назад

    The fact we able to document this historical data is in itself a task of love and hard work.

  • @cmscms123456
    @cmscms123456 4 года назад +2

    A buddy of mine worked on electronic and computers for the space program in the 1960s. He said there is no way the US went to the moon, with the state of electronics at that time. It would have taken a building full of wires cables and still vacuum tubes, to get a space ship to the moon.

    • @Agarwaen
      @Agarwaen 3 года назад

      your "buddy" told you lies

    • @cmscms123456
      @cmscms123456 3 года назад +1

      @@Agarwaen Hold old are you?

  • @theannoyedmrfloyd3998
    @theannoyedmrfloyd3998 4 года назад +5

    Curious Marc's videos on the AGC restoration are worth watching again.

  • @randomunavailable
    @randomunavailable 4 года назад +52

    There is no try. There is only do, or do not. They did. Period.

    • @lpg12338
      @lpg12338 4 года назад

      @White Man You can't out source good work ethic.

    • @Menaceblue3
      @Menaceblue3 4 года назад

      Yes master Yoda...

  • @bladactania
    @bladactania Год назад

    Absolutely amazing! I wish WSJ had included a link to Marc's channel in their description.

  • @valuedhumanoid6574
    @valuedhumanoid6574 4 года назад

    There is another RUclips channel called Smarter Every Day that went and did a whole episode on Saturn V guidance computer at the Huntsville Space Center and he interviewed the engineer who worked on it. It's fascinating to watch. The memory was all set by hand. Each transistor, every single wire, components, everything. It will truly blow your mind

  • @markfrederick6202
    @markfrederick6202 4 года назад +7

    thank you Alan Turing!

  • @AdrianDucao
    @AdrianDucao 4 года назад +3

    I've followed and watched every video they released on their channel.

  • @marcwolf60
    @marcwolf60 Год назад

    Brilliant job guys.. Living history

  • @PixelSchnitzel
    @PixelSchnitzel 4 года назад +10

    The restoration team is composed entirely of brilliant, motivated and amazingly talented individuals -- an uncommon blend of genius focused on a common problem. Still, Mike Stewart is a prodigy among them. To possess such a depth and breadth of knowledge on this important piece of history 50 years on despite his young age -- and then to be in a position to *apply* that knowledge . . . well, it was quite an experience to witness, even if only through RUclips.

  • @reakingringpiece
    @reakingringpiece 4 года назад +10

    we might be able to go back if they repair it lol

  • @FN_FAL_4_ever
    @FN_FAL_4_ever Год назад +1

    I don’t know how this ended up on my feed, but I’m sure glad I clicked and watched.

  • @romerobryan83
    @romerobryan83 3 года назад +1

    6:20 what a good guy

  • @MrDaiseymay
    @MrDaiseymay 4 года назад +9

    The---most important computer built, was the first one (programmable) ''COLOSSUS'' AT BLETCHLEY PARK ENGLAND, 1944.

    • @Craigeek
      @Craigeek 4 года назад

      That's actually not the first. But it's close.

    • @phucdatbich1990
      @phucdatbich1990 4 года назад +1

      @@Craigeek It was the first programmable, electronic computer put to work for a specific task en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_computer

    • @snooks5607
      @snooks5607 4 года назад

      significance of firsts is subjective. just like US likes to say they won "the space race" as if it's only the moon that matters, in just about every other space-first winner was soviet union. IMO first general purpose computer is more significant. Colossus couldn't run applications only calculations around specific problem domain, ENIAC was the first that could run application code like modern computer does. (disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with any of the nations involved)

  • @vincentvaga4542
    @vincentvaga4542 4 года назад +20

    Absolutely amazing! Great that people like this are alive! What a thing to end up on the scrap heap! And to the 78 dislikes to this video... Wow.. what a sad existence you must live. 👍🏻

    • @maxsmith695
      @maxsmith695 Год назад +1

      You support free speech ? Then you respect different opinions.

    • @montanaeaglescout
      @montanaeaglescout Год назад

      It’s amazing that people blindly believe the government.

  • @CharleneMathews-jd8wt
    @CharleneMathews-jd8wt 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thank goodness we have men like these saving human history

  • @PUZZLEfun
    @PUZZLEfun Год назад

    youre right we do need to preserve history and remember where we came from. what a great take.

  • @slordmo2263
    @slordmo2263 4 года назад +66

    Watched all of the CuriousMarc restoration videos....kinda happy and sad, when it was over, though.... (it's that young guy who really knows how it works... Mike Stuart.... ) I guess he actually 'built' an AGC equivalent with programmable gate arrays... that literally 'copied' all the electronic logic gates, and memory. I see there are always 'doubters' present.... most of them are either too young, or too ignorant of the 1960's to understand the mindset.... it was a different time.... and we wanted to beat the 'ruskies'.... and we did.....Thanks for the video...

    • @TheNefastor
      @TheNefastor 4 года назад +3

      If the guys back then used as many dots as you are, they'd never have been able to code guidance software that can run on just 2KB of RAM.

    • @slordmo2263
      @slordmo2263 4 года назад +2

      @@TheNefastor My 'dots' are a strategic pause in thought.... hahaha...oops...

    • @randomstuff2312
      @randomstuff2312 4 года назад

      @@TheNefastor you answered my question! 2kb of RAM?! Wow!

    • @randomunavailable
      @randomunavailable 4 года назад

      @@TheNefastor Well, the software was written within the 40k or so of fixed core rope memory (ROM in today's terms).

    • @stevenichols4639
      @stevenichols4639 4 года назад

      Mike's knowledge was amazing. he knew everything

  • @64CSAR
    @64CSAR 4 года назад +3

    Momma always said “life is like a monumental task and to run forest”

  • @nandanm3826
    @nandanm3826 4 года назад

    Good to know. Thank you for sharing.🙏

  • @juanfelipecopete9368
    @juanfelipecopete9368 4 года назад

    I'm very impressed with the computer restoration of the lunar module. WOW

  • @AH-we7rj
    @AH-we7rj 4 года назад +7

    Important elements of the past need to be preserved...
    Great to see it happening...
    I thought all of this was kept by NASA? Considering the cold war atmosphere, etc...it is truly breathtaking to see how casual they were about it...

    • @CanIHasThisName
      @CanIHasThisName 4 года назад

      The can't keep every single bit of technology they've ever used. For the most part, it actually doesn't make much sense for them to keep it. Preserving, restoring or doing anything with it means extra money and time.

    • @40HDR
      @40HDR 4 года назад +2

      @@CanIHasThisName YEAH, YOU DEF WOULD NOT KEEP "THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVANCEMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY" PARTS AND PIECES, T-DATA, ETC. I MEAN - IT'S JUST "THE GREATEST LEAP" BUT, THROW THAT STUFF OUT, NO ROOM..

    • @CanIHasThisName
      @CanIHasThisName 4 года назад +1

      @@40HDR Your exaggerations are neither funny nor accurate. They didn't keep this because it simply wasn't all that important.
      Firstly, this wasn't THE computer that landed humans on the moon for the first time, and secondly, you do realize they've actually got a museum with these exact same parts, right?

    • @lukea1533
      @lukea1533 Год назад

      Museums exist for a reason. This ain't no IPhone 2