Computing History & Legendary BugsSpace Computing

The Computer That Flew to the Moon

Apollo's guidance computer had about 4 KB of working memory

Your phone has over a million times more memory than the computer that flew astronauts to the Moon. So how did that one manage?

You'll find out

  • What fits in 4 KB, and what doesn't
  • How a program got woven into wire
  • How astronauts talked to it

Why it matters

Every byte mattered on Apollo, and its tricks of squeezing a lot into very little still shape software today.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 257 · Zone 29

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