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Restored Apollo Guidance Computer Visits the Cradle of Aviation Museum

Thursday, July 18, 2019
12:00 pm5:00 pm

The Apollo Guidance Computer that sat at the heart of the Apollo Lunar Module and Command Module, and provided spacecraft control as the first digital autopilot while also providing guidance and navigation, is on tour, and will be visiting the Cradle of Aviation Museum & Education Center on Thursday, July 18th in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo. This revolutionary system has been restored to full working order by Mike Stewart, Ken Shirriff, Marc Verdiell, and Carl Claunch.

The team will provide talks about the computer (and its restoration) as well as demonstrate the computer flying parts of the Apollo 11 mission, with a commentary. That involves entering commands into the Display/Keyboard (DSKY) replica and watching responses from the AGC displayed as it controls the landing. A display will be showing the view from the cockpit of the LM along with the output on the DSKY.

This unique computer is of great interest to space enthusiasts, those celebrating the Apollo 11 Anniversary, and especially to Long Islanders who helped design and build the LMs that made the moon landings possible. The Cradle of Aviation has the largest collection of Lunar Module artifacts, parts, documentation, and photos in the world and is home to LM-13, intended for the Apollo 19 mission to Copernicus Crater in 1973, which was ultimately canceled. It is one of three Lunar Modules left on earth. The other two are at Kennedy Space Center and Smithsonian’s Air & Space. The museum also exhibits a Grumman Lunar Module Clean Room Display featuring the LTA-1, the first fully functional LM, as it appeared while under construction at Grumman.

Free with museum admission.