Apollo 11: A living archival project of a historic space mission
Let us embark on a thrilling journey of the Apollo 11's unprecedented moon mission of 1969; the GitHub open-source project that constitutes an integral part of our human and technology history. The Apollo 11 project is an endeavour to scan, digitize, and archive one of the most significant programming efforts of our time, making it a landmark initiative in the sphere of digital preservation.
Project Overview:
The Apollo 11 open-source project has a robust objective to make available the original Apollo 11 guidance computer (AGC) command module code for the world to access, admire, explore and learn from it. This monumental initiative caters to historians, technology enthusiasts and space aficionados, providing them with a unique insight into one of the most significant technological achievements in human history.
Project Features:
The project presents the scanned version of the Lunar Module's (LM) "Luminary 99 Rev 2", and the Command Module's (CM) "Colossus 249" source codes. Scooping through these scripts allows one to comprehend the sheer magnitude of computational expertise of that era, these scripts controlled the missions' navigational computations, instrument monitoring, engine ignition timings and more. It's a shining testament to human endeavor, genius and perseverance during the space race.
Technology Stack:
Primarily written in Assembly language, the Apollo 11 project utilizes the speed and close-to-hardware nature of this low-level language to execute tasks swiftly. Assembly language was the ideal choice for scientists of the Apollo era due to its compatibility with the rudimentary computing resources of the time.
Project Structure and Architecture:
The Apollo 11 project follows the traditional monolithic design pattern, largely driven by the technological constraints of the era when it was implemented. The archive is grouped into different files, each containing the Assembly code for different sections of the mission. The pieces encompass navigation, guidance, and control along with various schedules and code patches.
