How the Lunar Module improved flight on Earth ✈️ When I learned that my Apollo Guidance Computer was removed from the Lunar Module on display in the Smithsonian, I was wondering what greater purpose it could have served? Amazingly, this very unit was used in the NASA F-8 jet to demonstrate digital fly-by-wire (DFBW) controls for the first time in 1972. NASA’s conclusion: “The DFBW research program is considered one of the most significant and most successful NASA aeronautical programs since the inception of the agency.” — https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/F-8DFBW/F-8DFBW_proj_desc.html
After demonstrating this breakthrough in aircraft control, the new approach carried over to the space shuttle and after a decade, all subsequent military and civilian jets, starting with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 777. It was a major advance in safety, reliability, fuel efficiency, maneuverability and smoothness of flight.
So, my LM guidance computer, designed for landing on the moon, taught us how better to fly on Earth. Why the crossover? From the NASA book Computers Take Flight: “The Lunar Module could not depend on aerodynamic assistance in any form. It was the first piloted vehicle designed to operate throughout its entire flight envelope in an airless environment. As such, it was necessary to provide the craft with all the components later needed for fly-by-wire aircraft.”
The magnetic core rope memories still contain the flight program tempting us to repurpose it once again for drone control. More details on my AGC: https://flic.kr/p/2htaTmr
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