Computers and Apollo.

In November 1970, Ian Grant, Geoff Seymour and John Saxon authored a paper entitled “Computers and Apollo”.

It was presented at a meeting of the Australian Computer Society in Melbourne.

This document gives a wonderful insight into the vital role played in Apollo by computers. As the conclusion states, “without the modern high speed digital computer, the Apollo project would have been impossible”.

Thanks to Ian Grant for his copy of this paper.

Click the image for a 2.3MB PDF file.

NASA Senior Scientific Representative to Australia, Willson Hunter, sent this note to Lewis Wainwright, then Deputy Assistant Controller of the Department of Supply’s American Projects Branch, commending the paper:

“I have read with considerable interest the paper ‘Computers and Apollo’ by Ian Grant, G.R. Seymour and J.H.K. Saxon. It is excellent and puts many things in proper context which I had only known piece-meal before. In my opinion, the paper would warrant further publication and would, no doubt, be interesting to Buzz Brockett’s computer people at OTDA as well as to Ozzie Covington and Bill Wood, among others.”

This copy with thanks to Geoff Seymour.

Click the image for a 1MB PDF file.