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David A. Mindell

Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight (The MIT Press) Illustrated Edition

by David A. Mindell (Author)

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The incredible story of how human pilots and automated systems worked together to achieve the ultimate achievement in flight—the lunar landings of NASA’s Apollo program

As Apollo 11’s Lunar Module descended toward the moon under automatic control, a program alarm in the guidance computer’s software nearly caused a mission abort. Neil Armstrong responded by switching off the automatic mode and taking direct control. He stopped monitoring the computer and began flying the spacecraft, relying on skill to land it and earning praise for a triumph of human over machine. In Digital Apollo, engineer-historian David Mindell takes this famous moment as a starting point for an exploration of the relationship between humans and computers in the Apollo program. In each of the six Apollo landings, the astronaut in command seized control from the computer and landed with his hand on the stick. Mindell recounts the story of astronauts’ desire to control their spacecraft in parallel with the history of the Apollo Guidance Computer. From the early days of aviation through the birth of spaceflight, test pilots and astronauts sought to be more than “spam in a can” despite the automatic controls, digital computers, and software developed by engineers.

Digital Apollo examines the design and execution of each of the six Apollo moon landings, drawing on transcripts and data telemetry from the flights, astronaut interviews, and NASA’s extensive archives. Mindell’s exploration of how human pilots and automated systems worked together to achieve the ultimate in flight—a lunar landing—traces and reframes the debate over the future of humans and automation in space. The results have implications for any venture in which human roles seem threatened by automated systems, whether it is the work at our desktops or the future of exploration.

ISBN-10

9780262516105
ISBN-13

978-0262516105
Edition

Illustrated
Publisher

The MIT Press
Publication date

September 30, 2011
Language

English
Dimensions

7 x 1.05 x 9 inches
Print length

376 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“[A] wealth of research that even the most informed space fans can enjoy. Mindell avoids the temptation to glorify the space program, instead dealing with the nitty gritty logistics involved in getting a man to the moon. Digital Apollo succeeds in providing an inside track to one of the most difficult technological challenges of the 20th century.”
—James Thorne, coolhunting.com

“Mindell joyfully plumbs the deep history of Apollo’s decade-long clash between the MIT eggheads who built the computers and the thrill-jockey military test pilots who used them.”
—IEEE Spectrum

“The book is a refreshing reminder that it is still possible to uncover new stories about the early years of the American space program.”
—Dwayne A. Day, Air & Space

Review

Digital Apollo takes the reader on a wild ride following the impact of the increasingly complex world of data processing, control, and display on space flight. The book traces the evolution of man's role aboard high speed aircraft, the hybrid X-15, and ultimately space flight, and the lunar landing. This book is fascinating history and an important resource for future space explorers.

―Robert C. Seamans, Jr., Former Deputy Administrator, NASA

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0262516101
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The MIT Press; Illustrated edition (September 30, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780262516105
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262516105
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.05 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #255,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #62 in Astronautics & Space Flight
- #81 in History of Engineering & Technology
- #174 in Aeronautics & Astronautics (Books)

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4.5 273 ratings

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Kevin W W

Fascinating origin story for embedded computing and navigation

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 14, 2023

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The Apollo computer was the fourth astronaut in the spacecraft, responsible for navigation, guidance and systems operation. Digital Apollo gives a technical yet approachable introduction to the guidance computer, programming practices, and designing for safety.

As a practicing embedded software engineer, I see direct parallels between the Apollo Guidance Computer and a modern day automotive ECU. The core OS is designed for the same failsafe operations, and the Kalman filter algorithms (invented for the moon landing) are still used today. Cutting edge chips have replaced the "state vectors" on the lunar landing with Deep Nets, but it's the same fundamentals from Apollo.

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Much More Than the Title Implies

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 5, 2011

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You might think a book entitled "Digital Apollo" would be about the development, programming and operation of the digital computers in the Apollo Command (CM) and Lunar (LM) Modules. You would be partially right. About half of Dr. David Mindell's superb volume covers those subjects, very readably and in great detail. But the book's scope is far broader than that. It is really nothing less than a comprehensive examination of the relationships between humans and machines from the earliest days of aviation, through the X-15, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle eras, and into the future of spaceflight.

It's a fascinating story that has not, to my knowledge, previously been told in any depth. The evolution of the Apollo computer hardware and software occurred in parallel with the evolution of the attitudes of steely eyed NASA astronauts, who fought hard to avoid relinquishing any control to machines. All the early astronauts were test pilots--their hard-won experiences with primitive vacuum-tube systems in aircraft had convinced them that "electronics always fail." Thus they opposed NASA's decision, mandated by the complexity of lunar missions, to depend largely on new-fangled transistorized digital computers to help them fly the Apollo spacecraft. At one time, in those days before "fly-by-wire" control systems, some Apollo astronauts wanted actual cables connecting a conventional aircraft-type stick with the CM's attitude control rocket motors. That didn't happen. They feared that computer failures would jeopardize their missions and perhaps cost them their lives. That also didn't happen. To find out what DID happen, there's no better source than "Digital Apollo."

Dr. Mindell says his book "...tells the story of the relationship between human and machine in the Apollo project and how that relationship shaped the experience and the technology of flying to the moon. It is a story of human pilots, of automated systems, and of the two working together to achieve the ultimate in flight. It is also a story of public imagery, professional identities and social relationships among engineers, pilots, flight controllers and many others, each with their own visions of spaceflight." That's a good summary, but I'd like to add to it. First, words like "social relationships" and "working together" and "visions" should not deter technophiles from reading "Digital Apollo." Those subjects are all in there, but much of the book is at the down-and-dirty technical level of bits and bytes and magnetic core memories and DSKYs and other esoterica. Dr. Mindell superbly integrates the human and computer stories in a way that almost anyone should find interesting. Second, "Digital Apollo" is one of the best-written spaceflight books I've read in years. Its tone is brisk and conversational, but the information it contains is deep, broad and very well-explained. You don't have to be a space cadet to enjoy it. It is also exceptionally accurate. I came across only a few minor errors in the parts of the story that I know, such as calling a metal alloy used in the X-15 "Iconel-X" rather than "Inconel-X" (the alloy and the name came from the International Nickel Company, hence "Inco").

"Digital Apollo" fills a niche in the history of technology and spaceflight in a most outstanding way. It reminds me a little of Tracy Kidder's " The Soul of A New Machine ," and that is high praise indeed. Even if you think you know Apollo, you should read it. You're sure to learn a lot, and be entertained in the process. I recommend it most highly.

20 people found this helpful

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Robert I. Hedges

A Superior Account Of The Challenges Of The Man-Machine Interface In Apollo

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 31, 2009

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In "Digital Apollo" David Mindell has created a thoughtful and readable account of the design of the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC), the software that allowed it to succeed, the history of its use, and the bigger picture issues of human factors and automation interface issues in complex systems in general. While I differ with him on some of his perspectives (I am a pilot, and tend to side with the "man in the loop" opinions held by the astronauts, most eloquently voiced by Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott), I found the entire book engrossing and his approach to complex human factors, ergonomic, and automation issues to be extraordinarily useful, especially to professionals in the field.

The book traces the history of the AGC, discusses its growth and capabilities, and its real world use. I was especially pleased with chapters nine and ten which dealt in detail with each of the six landings, differences between the landings, and differing attitudes held by the various astronauts about the computer and its functionality. I was pleased with the detailed coverage that Apollo 12 got, and the explanations of the increasing complexity of the "J missions" which took heavier LMs into much more difficult terrain much more steeply. Mindell gives the best explanation I have yet read (p. 205) of the use of the Landing Point Designator (LPD), and computer incorporation of landing radar returns and resulting Delta H data into final altitude solutions for the crew. As an aside, don't stop reading until the very end: the very last page (p. 361) contans an excellent explanation of the extremely well rendered cover illustration depicting the view from Armstrong's window at about 520 feet above the lurain.

The book is, like any endeavor of this scope, not perfect, with an occasional error or typo: most seem to be due to spell check artifacts not recognizing unusual word use. (The most obvious example is the discussion of the Apollo 1201 and 1202 program alarms on p. 222 which he refers to as "executive overload" instead of "executive overflow" alarms, even though he subsequently used the word overflow correctly in reference to these same events. Amusingly enough, the quote about the alarms from Norman Mailer doesn't really make sense if you read the word as "overload.") This is, of course, nitpicking, and I absolutely don't intend to take away from a brilliant career accomplishment.

The ideal reader for this book will care passionately about manned space flight, and will find Apollo especially worthy of in-depth study. The book does not require any previous knowledge of spaceflight, human factors, computer interface issues, or aviation, but will be slower going for someone with no background in those areas (though still worthwhile). It is not a technical book in the sense that only engineers, programmers, astronauts, or pilots can glean useful information from it, but it does touch on a variety of complex subjects. Fortunately Mindell is more than up to the task and makes learning about this fascinating subject highly rewarding. I recommend this book very highly.

9 people found this helpful

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Eduardo Henrique dos Santos

Excelente leitura

Reviewed in Brazil 🇧🇷 on November 10, 2021

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Eu curti demais o livro. Ele realmente traz uma visão diferente do que se imagina pelo título. Apesar de se procurar elucidar a grande oportunidade e avanços provocados pela tecnologia digital, ora engatinhando, é possível ter uma noção boa do que ocorreu nos instantes antes, durante e após a definição do presidente Kennedy de levar o homem à lua.

Entende-se o quão a tecnologia evoluiu desde os irmãos Wright até a ida do do homem à lua. Tudo isso em apenas duas gerações.

Além disso, o livro aborda os conflitos entre a decisão de máquinas autônomas fazendo tudo ou a possibilidade de o homem ter influência sobre essas máquinas, dando-se ou não o devido valor aos pilotos de caça e astronautas. Isso desde os projetos Mercury e Gemini, e que tiveram influência fundamental nas decisões de Engenharia de sistemas que nortearam todo o programa Apollo.

Mostra um pouco do desafio em se desenvolver algo inédito e desacreditado por muitos, chamado computador digital, instalado sem redundância em uma nave espacial, preparada para funcionar por 8 dias consecutivos, com memória limitada e de extrama dificuldade de programação e teste.

Além disso, o livro aborda o que ocorreu em todas as missões Apollo. Há uma descrição detalhada da entrada em órbita lunar e pouso do Eagle sob o comando do Armstrong, além das dificuldades e o quão ele foi fundamental para que o pouso realmente ocorresse.

O livro, mais do que agradável, tem muita história viva, pessoas fundamentais, nomes que só tinha ouvido falar quando nos estudos da matéria de Controle na faculdade e a importância dessas pessoas em todas as façanhas desse feito de engenharia.

Só quem trabalha com tecnologia sabe as dificuldades de refazer esse feito hoje em dia. O pessoal fez isso há 52 anos. So... Respect!

Recomendo a todos aqueles entusiastas de tecnologia, espaço, aeronáutica, engenharia de sistemas, navegação e sobretudo para quem gosta de ler sobre boas histórias.

One person found this helpful

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pearl

米国の有人宇宙飛行計画の技術史－人間と技術の関わりを描く

Reviewed in Japan 🇯🇵 on December 5, 2022

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米国の一連の有人宇宙飛行計画であるマーキュリー計画，ジェミニ計画，アポロ計画の技術面を扱ったノンフィクション．初期のアメリカの宇宙飛行士は全てジェット機のテストパイロットであった．一方，宇宙船は基本的に打ち上げから着陸まで自動制御される．飛行機と同様な人間による完全制御を主張する宇宙飛行士と，できるだけ自動制御にしたい科学者のせめぎ合いは，最初の有人飛行から，アポロ計画の最後まで常に問題となった．人間と技術の関わりという哲学的なテーマも含むこの問題が，本書のバックボーンである．

これ以外にも，様々な技術的側面が語られているが，この時期はちょうど集積回路(IC)の導入期，アナログ回路からデジタルデジタルコンピュータへの移行期にあたり，そのひとつひとつについて，当初は技術者も飛行士も懐疑的で，デジタルコンピュータなんぞに生命を預けられるかという強硬な意見もあり議論が戦わされる．またこういったハードウェアの急速な進歩にもかかわらず，当時はソフトウェアの意義がまったく認識されずその開発が著しく遅れていたという点は興味深かった．

後半は，アポロ11号から17号まで順を追って，制御システムの中枢を担う Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC)技術的詳細が述べられる．個人的には非常におもしろかったが，かなり専門的な議論や冗長な記述もあるので，これにどこまで興味を持つかは読者の背景にもよるであろう．類似の著作に，アポロ計画のFlight DirectorをつとめたGene Kranzによる ”Failure is not an option" があるが，そちらの方がテンポが速く読みやすかった．

宇宙飛行，制御システム，コンピュータ技術の歴史に興味のある人にはおすすめである．

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Roy Hafeli

Great read for space buffs who like to know what ...

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 23, 2015

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Rather technical accounts of the Apollo computer system but very informative and insightful. Great read for space buffs who like to know what happened in the back rooms.

Fine Young Weasel

A very good tale of how digital computing came about in flight ...

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 10, 2016

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Only geeks may apply. A very good tale of how digital computing came about in flight control systems. It starts off a little dry but stick with it and it really picks up.

Makoto Ichikawa

人間＝機械システムに関心ある多くの人にも読んで欲しい本

Reviewed in Japan 🇯🇵 on July 20, 2013

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　レビュー者はアポロ計画関係の書籍を集めていて、本書を入手したのは「アポロ宇宙機で用いられたコンピュータの開発の歴史や機能が解説されているかな」という単純な理由でした。実際に入手し、磁気コアメモリなどのハードウェア、そしてソフトウェアについても解説されていますが、本書が単にアポロ計画にフォーカスしただけのものでなく、航空機の発展に不可欠な計器と飛行機の関係、自動制御とパイロットあるいは宇宙飛行士の関係など、歴史的な面を含めて幅広い視点から解説されていることを理解しました。
　レビュー者の好きな映画に『ライトスタッフ [DVD ]』、『アポロ13 [DVD ]』があり、前者で宇宙飛行士が宇宙機に窓が必要で操縦できることを主張した場面、後者で地球への帰還ルートに宇宙飛行士の操縦で制御した場面がありますが、本書を通してこれらの場面の理解も深まりました。
　本書中で月着陸機が月面に着陸した際のApollo 11〜17の宇宙飛行士の状況の説明がありますが、今日のような画像処理で障害物を判断できるような自動制御がない時代、岩やクレーターなどが点在し、月着陸ステージから安全にLMを飛び立たせるには平坦な着陸地を選ばなければならないことから、アポロ計画は宇宙飛行士の存在なくして成功しなかったことを改めて認識させられました。
　本書は宇宙開発に関心のある人だけでなく、自動制御に関連する学生さんの副読本として、また、実務として人間＝機械システムに関わる業務に携わる人にも是非、薦めたい本です。

9 people found this helpful

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