FIRST COMPUTER CHIPS USED BY ASTRONAUTS

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The first, and most significant, computer chips used by astronauts were Fairchild Semiconductor’s 9915 Dual 3-Input NOR gates, which powered the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC). Developed in the mid-1960s, these integrated circuits were crucial for navigating Apollo missions to the Moon, marking the first major use of silicon ICs in aerospace. 

• Chip Type: Fairchild 9915 Fairchild 9915 NOR gate chips (Logic) and custom Fairchild analog chips (Sense Amplifiers) were utilized.
• Total Usage: Each AGC contained approximately 5,200 of these Fairchild chips.
• Significance: The AGC was the first computer designed with integrated circuits (ICs) rather than individual transistors, making it much smaller and more reliable for space travel.
• Manufacturer: Fairchild Semiconductor provided the ICs, which were manufactured at their Shiprock, N.M., facility.
• Other Applications: Early satellite missions, such as the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP) in 1963, also used ICs before their widespread adoption in the Apollo program.
• Memory: The Apollo computer used a "core rope memory," which was manually woven by technicians. 

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The reliance on these early, mass-produced ICs by the Apollo program helped drive down the cost from $1,000 to $15 per chip by the time of the moon landing. 

• Apollo Guidance Computer - Wikipedia

  Following the use of integrated circuit (IC) chips in the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP) in 1963, IC technology was late...

  

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