Light Years Ahead | The 1969 Apollo Guidance Computer

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  • čas přidán 28. 04. 2024
  • Half a century ago, on 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong was in the final stages of the lunar descent, just a few thousand feet above the surface, when suddenly his on-board computer indicated a critical alarm. For three nail-biting seconds it looked as if the mission would have to be aborted. However, Armstrong was given a "go" to continue, and after several more alarms the Eagle touched down safely on the Moon.
    Robert Wills introduces the amazing hardware and software that made up the Apollo Guidance Computer, walks you through the landing procedure step-by-step, and talks about the pioneering design principles that were used to make the landing software robust against any failure. He also explains the problems that occurred during the Apollo 11 landing, and shows you how the Apollo Guidance Computer played its part in saving the mission.
    Chapters:
    00:00 Welcome to TNMOC and introduction
    04:50 The Apollo Guidance Computer, AGC
    19:36 Demo
    13:08 How to land on the moon
    47:53 The eventful landing
    1:00:37 Questions and answers
    Recorded: 26th October, 2019.
  • Věda a technologie

Komentáře • 7K

  • @brownajb
    @brownajb Před 3 lety +1688

    When this popped up on my recommended list, I thought that there was no way I’d sit and watch some guy drone on about the Apollo Guidance Computer for 80 minutes. No way possible. But I did watch the whole thing. And I’ll give my boy his props: Robert Willis is an excellent communicator, doing an outstanding job explaining a well-known but still arcane event.

    • @stevemacbr
      @stevemacbr Před 3 lety +18

      DITTO - and I even slowed it down at a point to get all the info. - Some good questions from the (very select) audience.

    • @omallakas4156
      @omallakas4156 Před 3 lety +16

      I knew absolutely nothing about the subject, but I enjoyed this so much I searched and found a couple of other things on this topic to watch.

    • @flack3
      @flack3 Před 3 lety +37

      After reading your comment I wondered if it was really worth it, here I am 1h20m later confirming that it is.

    • @aussieaeromodeler
      @aussieaeromodeler Před 3 lety +9

      he talks like he's explaining it to a kindergarted class

    • @omallakas4156
      @omallakas4156 Před 3 lety +16

      @@aussieaeromodeler His doing so was a good thing, since I knew absolutely nothing about this before watching him. My interests usually reside in the historical or political realms, I've read some books and watched the standard science documentaries that are generally produced for public consumption, like Cosmos and A Brief History of Time. But this was quite different and very new to me.

  • @philippebruno8039
    @philippebruno8039 Před 3 lety +2166

    No fancy bells and whistles, just a simple deck of slides... But an outstanding and passionate communicator who can actually make you feel smart just by listening to him explaining complex things with simple illustrations. Highly recommended!

    • @michatroschka
      @michatroschka Před 3 lety +40

      thats a great point! thats actually a personality trait, to make people feel smart. i experienced that in a physics research institute, if you asked a stupid question there, it was accepted and even approved a great question and explained in detail

    • @ginomazzei1076
      @ginomazzei1076 Před 3 lety +3

      Maybe. They do what Naza deems. 🎩

    • @JohnSmith-hi2ry
      @JohnSmith-hi2ry Před 3 lety +11

      No narrator talking to you as if your a child. With bright colors and music.

    • @steventurvey5626
      @steventurvey5626 Před 3 lety +46

      When I noted the length of the video I thought to myself, oh well I will just watch until I'm bored. I watched the entire video, fascinating!! The presenter did a brilliant job keeping it a personal and interesting and, that would satisfy a surprisingly wide range of audience expertise.

    • @karadan100
      @karadan100 Před 3 lety +2

      @Jonny Mosquito Strawman at Large Aww bless, you don't understand science in the slightest.

  • @kevvywevvywoo
    @kevvywevvywoo Před 2 lety +506

    The joy for me in this talk is watching the expert clearly admiring and respecting the design of his forebears. His enthusiasm is infectious.

    • @philiprowney
      @philiprowney Před 8 měsíci +6

      I admire his conviction also. I have Asperger's and can tell another, he is making an epic effort. My hat is off to him. I took drama to try to get more confidence, after several stage appearances I still could not have presented this. [ and I'm a 53 year old space geek who knew all the dates, Shepard, Gagarin, Tereshkova et al ]
      I still feel a little of his nerves, bless him. Passion will out ;-)

    • @jamesfrancom8100
      @jamesfrancom8100 Před 8 měsíci +1

      yeah but he had the wrong slide up while he discussed core magnetic memory

    • @Jonas-bn8gp
      @Jonas-bn8gp Před 8 měsíci

      ​@@jamesfrancom8100ť
      6

    • @raphaels2103
      @raphaels2103 Před 3 měsíci

      00pppppmmpmppp😊😊😊😊 pool 😊​@@jamesfrancom8100

  • @KrefelderBusfahrer
    @KrefelderBusfahrer Před rokem +33

    CZcams algorithm: Here, watch this 80 minute talk about the Apollo Guidance Computer.
    Me: Pfff, yeah right.
    *Click*
    Me: You know, actually I am an Apollo Guidance Computer expert myself.
    Thanks for this awesome presenation! Really well done!

  • @capitaloz
    @capitaloz Před 3 lety +970

    Thank you CZcams recommendations algorithm.

    • @wraith8323
      @wraith8323 Před 2 lety +23

      Youve got a point, dont see a world where I would search for this on my own lmao

    • @registerme8217
      @registerme8217 Před 2 lety +13

      And a multiple nerdgasm..

    • @tanner882
      @tanner882 Před 2 lety +7

      Status quo as usual, keeping it nice and boring with the propaganda 👍

    • @stack3r
      @stack3r Před 2 lety +3

      @@tanner882 yeah guys this is all fake!
      Lol

    • @steves2694
      @steves2694 Před 2 lety +5

      Best recommendation ever.

  • @grumblekin
    @grumblekin Před 3 lety +1269

    This is the best thing that the algorithm has recommended this year.
    Good job, CZcams

    • @filminginportland1654
      @filminginportland1654 Před 3 lety +23

      grumblekin No doubt!! I wish I had recommendations like this more often. No politics, just good, nerdy fun that’s strangely inspiring and uplifting. We need more of that in our world.

    • @filminginportland1654
      @filminginportland1654 Před 3 lety +3

      Richard Kushlake You just had to ruin it, didn’t you? It’s bullshit like this that causes OP to post their surprise at this gem. A video that’s actually contributing something interesting, unlike you or me.

    • @Paul-eb2cl
      @Paul-eb2cl Před 3 lety +1

      Truth!

    • @AugustoRolon
      @AugustoRolon Před 3 lety

      Al fin CZcams ha ganado a los you tubers, que están inundando el sistema de vídeos tontos, y los vídeos realmente interesantes quedaban enterrados. Ahora el algoritmo está buscando en sus arcas y sacándolos a la luz lentamente.

    • @knexpert100
      @knexpert100 Před 3 lety +4

      Comment to appease the algorithm. More of this please, oh AI gods of media consumption.

  • @georgefarr3906
    @georgefarr3906 Před rokem +226

    THis was an absolutely fantastic lecture. I’ve watched hours of Apollo footage and read dozens of books about the program and yet learned so much from this young man. I hope he writes a book because his research and thoughts need to be memorialized beyond CZcams. Bravo young man!

    • @booshong
      @booshong Před 4 měsíci +1

      What other Apollo content/books/documentaries would you recommend?

    • @markwilson2992
      @markwilson2992 Před 2 měsíci

      I would like to see his take on the liftoff from the moon and docking with the command module.

  • @johnsutherland168
    @johnsutherland168 Před rokem +129

    Having worked on Apollo at MIT/IL, this is an excellent presentation. Very well done. I should also note that while doing the AGC (Apollo Guidance Computer) programming, we had two types of simulations that we could run to test and validate the navigation software. One simulation was completely digital in nature and we ran those simulations on an IBM 360 computer. The second simulation was a real time hardware simulation done in a mock-up of the command module (CM) and the lunar excursion module (LEM). The astronauts would come and get their first training on the AGC at MIT/IL, then get further training in Houston.

    • @slow-mo_moonbuggy
      @slow-mo_moonbuggy Před 10 měsíci +3

      What did you do?

    • @johnsutherland168
      @johnsutherland168 Před 10 měsíci +26

      @@slow-mo_moonbuggy - I started out doing computer programming and went into leading a small operations group. I was responsible for the delivery of the released programs to NASA and the prime subcontractors.

    • @Surya_Virya
      @Surya_Virya Před 7 měsíci +4

      @@johnsutherland168 amazing

    • @telx2010
      @telx2010 Před 6 měsíci +1

      Then you must know it's all made up.

    • @wheretimehasnovalue9343
      @wheretimehasnovalue9343 Před 5 měsíci +3

      may i ask if unix was the os used

  • @Maria-hm4xm
    @Maria-hm4xm Před 3 lety +709

    As a programmer at NASA Houston from 1967 to 1973 I really enjoyed Roberts presentation. Brought back memories from a bygone age. His comment about programming in those days being like the wild wild west is very true. In the days before computer science degrees, if you had any computer knowledge, you were hired.
    A math degree with two computer classes qualified me.

    • @AMC2283
      @AMC2283 Před 3 lety +18

      As a nasa programmer could you help me remove “one of truth’s protective layers”?

    • @ZiddersRooFurry
      @ZiddersRooFurry Před 3 lety +19

      Thank you for all the work you did

    • @dimbulb23
      @dimbulb23 Před 3 lety +42

      I worked for IBM '68-'98. I parlayed USAF electronics training and experience into a 30 year career digging through dumps, debugging OSs and even writing a bit OS2 Warp. First system I dealt with had 8K of RAM, no disks and punch cards. Caveman Computing made of twigs and small stones.

    • @AMC2283
      @AMC2283 Před 3 lety +7

      @@dimbulb23 I don’t believe they did anything more than put a ship in orbit- with people on board I mean

    • @BrianBaastrup
      @BrianBaastrup Před 3 lety +3

      @@AMC2283 truth's protective layer???

  • @tekinsal8396
    @tekinsal8396 Před 3 lety +314

    I'd never imagine I'd sit and watch this for an hour, but I actually did, this guy must be really good.

    • @mitchellbarnow1709
      @mitchellbarnow1709 Před 3 lety +13

      Robert Wills seems like a great man! I found everything fascinating and I don’t have any technical knowledge. I do remember watching the moon landing when I was ten years old. My dad told us that we would tell our children and grandchildren about this moment. Unfortunately, my dad didn’t remember saying this.

    • @atlanticx100
      @atlanticx100 Před 3 lety +6

      @@mitchellbarnow1709 Being in the UK I was 10 at the time my parents woke me up at four in the morning to watch the first steps out of the lander. It is something even at 61 years of age as if it was yesterday.

    • @warplanner8852
      @warplanner8852 Před 3 lety +7

      He certainly loves his subject. It's rare that one sees a millennial with such reverence for history!

    • @KRYPTOS_K5
      @KRYPTOS_K5 Před 3 lety

      I never imagine someone of my own generstion saying such a rubbish phrase. Only social network millennials...

    • @KRYPTOS_K5
      @KRYPTOS_K5 Před 3 lety +3

      @@mitchellbarnow1709 Maybe you could be interested in a testimony from a boy exactly ten years old like yourself -- however watching on TV in Brazil. I was watching on the American eagle arriving to the surface of the moon with my mother. My mother (who was a religious woman with college degree) was truly amazed. In a very emotional moment (when Armstrong first set foot upon the moon) she stood on her knees and began to pray. I felt it totally improper and amazed by the scene asked her why she was praying. She answered me that she was praying for the men. I asked again "why"? And she complemented saying "I am praying for the men because from now onwards only the men will be totally responsible for their own fate."

  • @flyingdutchy01
    @flyingdutchy01 Před 2 měsíci +6

    never would i have thought i'd watch through 1,5 hours about the Apollo Computer but here I am. Great content!

  • @jazzper_nl
    @jazzper_nl Před 5 měsíci +15

    This really tickled the inner nerd in me. The story, your presentation, the sharp questions and answers. Totally worth the watch!

  • @DigitalNomadOnFIRE
    @DigitalNomadOnFIRE Před 3 lety +45

    These have to be the best audience questions from any talk ever.

  • @richardrazgaitis6055
    @richardrazgaitis6055 Před 2 lety +592

    I was part of the Launch Team at Cape Kennedy for all the Apollo's from #1 (sadly there for the fire on Pad 34) through #11, the first lunar landing. I've met a number of the lunar astronauts including Buzz Aldrin. So I knew bits and pieces of this story, and recall vividly the real-time experience of watching the landing and hearing reference to those alarms on descent of 11, but never knew the whole story until this wonderful presentation here. This was a great combination of technical details and overall mission operation. Really really well done. The speaker mentioned 400,000 people who had worked on Saturn / Apollo. The exact number is probably unknowable but the conclusion that cite leads to is right: it took the energy, invention, and genius of an incredible number of people of all walks of life that solved thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of never-before-solved problems, all in a very very short time period. President Kennedy's speech was May 24, 1961 giving the challenge of the Landing by the end of the decade, and it was achieved twice (Apollo 11 and 12) before the end of 1969. And getting men-to-the-moon, circumnavigating it, was accomplished before the end of 1968 in Apollo 8 (Borman, Lovell, and Anders). All this, and the soon to follow Apollo fights and landings, was accomplished despite the massive setback of the deaths of three key astronauts (Grissom, White, and Chaffee) in January 1967 in the very first Apollo command module, when at that time no lunar module was even near flight ready, and Apollo 1 was atop the smaller / simpler Saturn 1B (earth orbit only rocket), while undergoing 'only' electrical testing weeks before even the first earth-orbit-only flight was to be attempted. Richard Nixon, who was President at the time of Apollo 11, called it "the greatest week in history since the Creation;" that's a little over the top...but Apollo 11 does rank somewhere pretty high in the historical list of achievements.

    • @maxsmith695
      @maxsmith695 Před 2 lety +2

      35,000,000 worked on Apollo program, so they all knew the details.

    • @wanderingfido
      @wanderingfido Před 2 lety +11

      Isn't there a rather curious gap in careful tests between Apollo 10 and 11? Where are the expected attempts to land an unmanned LEM? And then try returning one? Those tests would seem to be necessary. To bolster the needed confidence before committing to a manned mission.

    • @maxsmith695
      @maxsmith695 Před 2 lety +4

      @@wanderingfido -When you are doing the pretend version, no need.

    • @sheliumorg5189
      @sheliumorg5189 Před 2 lety +14

      I've been reading youtube threads for years. You Are The First Person I've Ever Seen Come Forward And Admit To Working On The Scam. Where are the other 399,999 ?

    • @maxsmith695
      @maxsmith695 Před 2 lety +6

      @@sheliumorg5189 ROFLMAO. Nice.

  • @FixitDave
    @FixitDave Před 2 lety +86

    Robert is a passionate presenter and when he speaks about the subject he is able to portray the events in such a simplistic and understandable way to anybody who is watching...very captivating and enjoyed every second!

    • @damnthisuser
      @damnthisuser Před 10 měsíci +1

      Absolutely correct. I'm not remotely knowledgeable about this but I'm engrossed in what he's presenting

  • @abstractalgo
    @abstractalgo Před 8 měsíci +21

    You can only imagine the amount of time it took to be able to put this kind of presentation together. Great stuff!!

  • @mikeheller2321
    @mikeheller2321 Před 3 lety +305

    I met Gene Kranz in the Houston airport about 5 years ago. Built up the courage to ask him about the 1202 alarm - how cool that they made that quick decision. He said the back-up crew saw the error a week before - was fresh in people's minds. Mr. Kranz walked me through the landing. Huge huge thrill. I watched this to learn more about that 1202 sucker. Really great job here.

    • @Hypersonik
      @Hypersonik Před 3 lety +6

      That's an amazing story and extremely jealous! Amazing!

    • @Daniel_Lemire
      @Daniel_Lemire Před 3 lety +15

      This is absolutely right. While I'm envious of Mike's getting to meet Gene in person, I've enjoyed reading the book Gene Authored: Failure is not an Option. If you are into the moon missions stories, this is a must read. He details this scenario quite well and helps to tell the mission control side of the story.

    • @suekennedy8917
      @suekennedy8917 Před 3 lety +5

      Did you ask him why the 1202 alarm did not occur during testing. Dont matter anyway because nobody walked on the moon.

    • @karlmadsen3179
      @karlmadsen3179 Před 2 lety +32

      @@suekennedy8917 There's one of these in every crowd.

    • @escaperoomleander1948
      @escaperoomleander1948 Před 2 lety +19

      @@suekennedy8917 12 Americans did. No Communists.

  • @kerrykikker
    @kerrykikker Před 3 lety +143

    Unmissable You Tube Gold. Riveting story, timeless historic topic, enthusiastic presenter, easily understood info. enjoy.

    • @knexpert100
      @knexpert100 Před 3 lety +4

      Blessed by the Algorithm. Bow to the Neon gods we made... BOW TO THE 1969 APOLLO GUIDANCE COMPUTER

    • @partypoet2012
      @partypoet2012 Před 3 lety

      @@knexpert100 ladies and gentlemen, before you drink all the Kool-Aid this channel can offer.. let me give you the opposing view ,,so that you can have a clear story here
      now we can talk about the satanic numerology that this guy uses and the satanic symbolism, that is prevalent throughout this whole video, if you want we can talk about that, another time..
      today let's talk about the fact that NASA has claimed, a bunch of times that all the Telemetry data has gone missing, 13000 reels, went.. bouncy balls, Baby Boom, bye bye along with every single schematic, to anything that went to the Moon, that would be the computers.. so I'm wondering where this guy came up with this cool story because it's not from NASA, they lost literally everything.. man's greatest achievement was completely lost.. but don't worry we're going to have an independent Computer Guy makeup even better stories than the ones you've seen in 69......
      and the picture that, he used, the iconic astronaut standing in front of the American flag, now that's heartwarming.. Until you realize that looks a lot like a studio-quality picture and here's the rub guys. the camera they were using needed to be completely adjusted. completely manual.. there is, no computer there, no AutoAnything remember, the good old days, where you had to metre the shot, adjust the f-stop, and then get the picture into Focus.. now I want you to do that with your eyes closed because they could not look into the camera, it's mounted on their chest and they have a huge salad bowl on their head ..they can't adjust the camera because their gloves are so freaking bulky and yet these guys we're taking one picture on average every 50 seconds and that includes changing locations, applying extra attention to certain details , sometimes having to move as much as 1.5 miles and yet they clicked one picture,, one studio-quality picture every 50 seconds.. go ask a photographer can this be done with a completely manual camera?? and the answer that all the moon landing deniers seem to be coming up with is an astounding... what a joke
      few of my favourite clips about the moon and relax guys they're all under a couple of minutes and their chopped full of laughs.....
      Can U See Stars Buzzed
      czcams.com/video/jFqDTxYegzI/video.html
      Top 10 NASA is BS
      czcams.com/video/pEE7OPKLhaM/video.html
      Hold Ur Head High---Simple Proof that the ISS is Nothing More than a Hollywood Production
      czcams.com/video/iwoudgUPqSM/video.html
      Do Not Watch This Video,, a great Flur Fur intro
      czcams.com/video/D0peS1oxYLo/video.html
      Flat EarthTruth documentary .
      Flat Earth - Best Presentation to Date, objective n honest
      czcams.com/video/YVLzPEoKhe0/video.html

    • @ytc3182
      @ytc3182 Před 3 lety

      And... Full of lies. Salty brit

    • @stevewhite3424
      @stevewhite3424 Před 3 lety +2

      @@partypoet2012 everybody bow down to the cut and paster.

    • @CNCmachiningisfun
      @CNCmachiningisfun Před 3 lety +2

      @@partypoet2012
      *DOPEY, SPAMMING,* flunts!

  • @DaDaDaddeo
    @DaDaDaddeo Před rokem +91

    This is the best presentation yet of the AGC. The whole concept of sharing memory for different jobs is explained so well. We take for granted the almost unlimited memory and speed of computers for executing tasks continuously. Yet, the MIT group was satisfied with sharing and allocating the scan times to multiple jobs. I is perplexing to imagine how PID was performed with such limited computing power.

    • @sootikins
      @sootikins Před 5 měsíci +1

      "scan time" "PID" those are very familiar terms. Are you by any chance a PLC / industrial controls guy?

  • @bando404
    @bando404 Před 6 měsíci +11

    This is my favorite video over 30 minutes on all of CZcams! I am an Apollo nerd but all the pop literature I have found is focused on the rockets and the people. That’s very cool too, but this stuff is not prevalent enough in pop literature.
    This talk is exactly right. I love it!

  • @martinlulak9601
    @martinlulak9601 Před 3 lety +378

    I just can't understand the fact why has this only less than 3000 views. It's one of the most awesome and interesting talks I have ever seen! I just love Apollo Guidance Computer and everything about Apollo and this talk is just super interesting! Thank you Robert and thank you tnmoc!

    • @robertwills8051
      @robertwills8051 Před 3 lety +33

      Thanks Martin! I'll be giving it virtually to a couple of other organisations over the next couple of months, so more people will be able to hear it :-)

    • @omallakas4156
      @omallakas4156 Před 3 lety +6

      Good question Robert, I'm not at all knowledgeable about computers or rocket engineering, but I still got the gist of this talk and found it entertaining. To be honest I just recently stumbled onto this youtube motherload of people explaining all kinds of aerospace technology, and have been binge watching. This is the third one today I've watched regarding the early computers NASA used. I usually watch the history documentaries, love the stuff Yale Courses posts, always liked watching stuff on the universe like Sagan's Cosmos, and Hawkins, Brief History of Time, and every now and then something on technology made for the general public. But I too couldn't help but notice that these always get fewer views than those far fetched conspiracy or new age mystical woo woo posts, and this all too popular ancient aliens type nonsense is anathema to someone who loves history. I figure at the rate were going one day the movie Idiocracy is going to be a documentary about modern intellectual development. After all so many highly educated people at a UN conference to save the planet, as well as many university students signed a petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide. Needless to say I don't feel too optimistic about them fixing the place up any time soon. :)

    • @LastV8Interceptors
      @LastV8Interceptors Před 3 lety +9

      Come back and take a look martin. 43k views 3 months later.

    • @martinlulak9601
      @martinlulak9601 Před 3 lety +4

      @@LastV8Interceptors Justifiably!!

    • @robertwills8051
      @robertwills8051 Před 3 lety +20

      @@LastV8Interceptors Yes, I always intended for this to be a light-hearted and engaging tribute to the women and men who worked on the hardware and software of this machine, and I'm delighted so many people have dropped by to see it, or at least part of it :-)

  • @bobwhite1384
    @bobwhite1384 Před 2 lety +28

    I was employed at Raytheon in 67-68, and was offered an opportunity to work on this computer as a service engineer. Did not take the assignment because it involved a relocation. Bad decision. But my memory of actually viewing one of the computers, under construction, has not faded. This video is a great relating of the computer's history!

  • @dennismartin4659
    @dennismartin4659 Před 2 lety +172

    I have worked in software for over 30 years and have been a spaceflight enthusiast for about 40. As with most available NASA mission audio, I have listened to the A11 FD loop 100 times I bet. I have read a lot about the AGC but this is such a great and clear presentation to help understand what every flight phase, AGC interaction and callout meant.

    • @JamesMulvenna
      @JamesMulvenna Před rokem +3

      When according to Gus's own family he was murdered in the same capsule he criticised.

    • @dariusz078
      @dariusz078 Před rokem

      @@JamesMulvenna Gus experienced loss of communication BEFORE the fire while sitting in test capsule. Common sense tells you that loss of communication must be the result of fire. But here conveniently It happens other way around. In 60 ties USA was run by the same mentality as in USSR Stalinist time. Same type of mass murderers and evil dispeakable creatures. Faking moon landing in studio was all they were able to achieve.

    • @telx2010
      @telx2010 Před 8 měsíci +4

      And you still believe it.😂

    • @ThomasKundera
      @ThomasKundera Před 7 měsíci +2

      @@telx2010 : What is there to "believe" here? This is an actual description of AGC and Apollo 11 landing.

  • @boropark12
    @boropark12 Před 2 měsíci +4

    I think this teacher gives a great delivery. He's very precise, down to earth (no pun intend) and has a way to make complicated things very simple. I'm Very grateful to have learned these new things. 🙏

    • @tnmoc
      @tnmoc  Před 2 měsíci

      Thanks! 😃

  • @jeremypark1818
    @jeremypark1818 Před 3 lety +475

    This man is a great speaker/presenter. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

  • @danevans8981
    @danevans8981 Před 4 lety +394

    One of the best talks I've ever seen, thank you Robert and TNMoC for doing this.

  • @coma13794
    @coma13794 Před 4 měsíci +6

    I bet some might judge the speaker on first appearance with his small quirks and deliberate pauses... but by God that man can present. What an absolute page turned! His ability to take a complex process and break it down, keeping you comfy the whole time is perfect. I hope he knows how much people enjoyed and appreciated.
    Thankful that YT exists... what a shame if only that small room full of ppl saw him!

    • @papalegba6796
      @papalegba6796 Před 4 měsíci

      Ok ChatGPT guy 😂

    • @coma13794
      @coma13794 Před 4 měsíci

      @@papalegba6796 actually I do use chatGPT to help with coding and system admin work, but, no, not with a #$#@$ YT comment. Was just being nice and I appreciate the work he put into his presentation.

  • @yommish
    @yommish Před 5 měsíci +5

    I’m only half an hour in, but man I can’t imagine all the engineering, programming, and development of protocols for every possible situation. Pretty incredible.

  • @thompsonmatthew
    @thompsonmatthew Před 3 lety +34

    This guy predicted pretty much every question I would have asked, and answered them... Impressive.

  • @maxflight777
    @maxflight777 Před 3 lety +60

    What a super young man. A great presenter. Cisco are lucky to have him. Thanks for posting this video. Compelling content.

  • @Spo8
    @Spo8 Před 11 měsíci +2

    Man, this is such a perfect example of how to give a technical presentation.

  • @notexactlyrocketscience
    @notexactlyrocketscience Před 6 měsíci +4

    his obvious expertise and enthusiasm is great to watch. some great back and forth too with the good questions

  • @captainzeppos
    @captainzeppos Před 2 lety +52

    Got here for a minute, stayed for the entire show. Absolutely outstanding.

  • @daspacechoechechoz9028
    @daspacechoechechoz9028 Před 3 lety +42

    I'm not sure how I got here...but I love it.

    • @barkatthemoonlunatic1715
      @barkatthemoonlunatic1715 Před 3 lety +1

      Open the pod bay doors....

    • @bobowzki
      @bobowzki Před 3 lety

      Me too..

    • @voornaam3191
      @voornaam3191 Před 3 lety

      The Apollo guidance computer just put you on the moon. That is how you got there. Are you familiar of the concept of DUH? You are worth it. Duh!!!!

    • @barkatthemoonlunatic1715
      @barkatthemoonlunatic1715 Před 3 lety

      @@voornaam3191 well...that made mucho sense...

  • @JS-og6lh
    @JS-og6lh Před 5 měsíci +7

    What a fantastic, informative, entertaining talk! Excellent job by an enthusiastic presenter that leaves the viewer wanting more!

  • @RichardLourette
    @RichardLourette Před 2 měsíci +3

    I'm so glad I stumbled on this! Great presentation! My first exposure to the guidance computer was meeting a "veteran" engineer at Lincoln Labs who worked at Draper labs during the Apollo era. Very interesting conversations, but that is when I realized that the computer was Single-string (no redundancy)!

  • @AhhMishMoneypenny
    @AhhMishMoneypenny Před 2 lety +7

    No way am I watching a vid for 1.5 hours….1.5 hours later…that was really interesting! Great presentation. 👍

  • @LMacNeill
    @LMacNeill Před 2 lety +196

    Wow! Seriously the most understandable and thorough presentation I’ve seen on the “1202 problem” that Apollo 11 had. Technical enough, but not supremely so; instructional without being pedantic; and interesting and engaging. Well done! Completely enjoyed it!

    • @strata114
      @strata114 Před 2 lety +3

      Beautifully presented 🎁

    • @John-wd5cb
      @John-wd5cb Před 9 měsíci

      The real modules cannot be found anywhere. Maybe we should ask Trump.

    • @LMacNeill
      @LMacNeill Před 9 měsíci +2

      @@John-wd5cb The real computers were in the Lunar Module -- half of which got left on the Moon, and half of which is either in orbit around the Sun or crashed back onto the Lunar surface after being separated from the Command/Service Module.

  • @xyz.ijk.
    @xyz.ijk. Před rokem +3

    This is one of my favorite videos. I’ve watched it three times from beginning to end.

  • @vcom2327
    @vcom2327 Před rokem +4

    The man is truly a nerd's nerd. Well done!

  • @alwatt9367
    @alwatt9367 Před 2 lety +44

    Robert is a real talent.. He should be picked up by a TV Broadcaster ....Reminds me of James Burke on the moon landing Broadcast by the BBC.. Excellent video Robert is brilliant

  • @mattierenton701
    @mattierenton701 Před 3 lety +91

    I love this guys presenting style, the way he stops and thinks for a second after being asked a question and no uuuuuuummmming and ahhhhhing all the time. Brilliantly clear and concise, the talk just flew by, and was balanced spot on. Thankyou youtube for throwing this at me, and thankyou tnmc for an amazing talk

    • @drawmaster77
      @drawmaster77 Před 2 lety +2

      yes it's definitely a skill of a good talker being able to avoid filler words.

  • @DavidHamster88
    @DavidHamster88 Před rokem +7

    This is the best explanation of the AGC that I’ve ever seen. Kudos to the speaker for a well crafted presentation. Here is a potential sequel: What happened to the AGC during Apollo 8 when Lovell set it back to P1.

  • @radimvybiral105
    @radimvybiral105 Před 5 měsíci +3

    This is such a great talk! From the very first lines. "July the 20th, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were in the lunar lander, 30k feet above the surface and descending rapidly..." Wow, straight to the core, here is the situation, this is it. This is happening. We are all landing together. Oh no, computer restarted, alarm1202...

  • @BamSarnett
    @BamSarnett Před 3 lety +212

    As an aerospace engineer and computer programmer I enjoyed this outstanding presentation greatly, particularly for busting some of the long-standing myths about the Apollo 11 landing. Robert did a great job of holding my rapt attention the entire 80+ minutes.

    • @mulder2400
      @mulder2400 Před 2 lety +2

      Pure gibberish, all the Apollo space programs were faked.

    • @FatManDoubleZero
      @FatManDoubleZero Před 2 lety

      Robert Wills is a CIRCUS CLOWN!!!!!! NASA'S APOLLO MOON LANDER NEVER "ORBITED OR LANDED ON THE MOON," PERIOD. The Poorly Designed Moon Lander was incapable of A CONTROLLED LANDING, ON TOP OF ANY SURFACE (including the NASA Space test grounds here on Earth) without CRASHING AND BURNING!! Neil Armstrong was nearly killed in the FAILED TESTING EXERCISES OF THIS CRAFT. His "rocket ejector seat with parachute" saved his life. The computer software of the late 1960's had less than 1,000th the sophistication and computational power of what we today have in our PERSONAL CELL PHONES. THE MOON LANDINGS WERE "FAKED." We could NOT LAND ON THE MOON in 1969. And today we still can’t fly 250,000 miles to the Moon, through the Van Allen Radiation Belts, and return to Earth. This is why we haven’t heard of a NASA scheduled “return flight to the Moon” in over 50 years - because the technology never existed. The Astronauts would need LEAD SHIELDING FOUR FEET THICK to protect against imminent death. For NASA to claim that using "tin foil shielding" in 1969 provided sufficient radiation protection for human life, while flying to the Moon and back, is AN INSULT TO MY INTELLIGENCE!!!! A current CZcams Video about NASA's recent space development project named "ORION" (cancelled by President Obama) is very telling. On this video, NASA space craft design engineer "Bill Smith" ADMITS that the severe radiation problem caused by the Van Allen Radiation Belts prevents safely sending humans to the Moon - until a solution can be found. Supposedly, NASA already SOLVED this radiation problem back in 1969????? Listen to Neil Armstrong's supposed "live audio recordings" of his lunar landing craft touching down of the Moon's surface. I noticed there is virtually ZERO background noise inside the landing craft as the descent rockets are being fired. In "real life" the landing descent rockets would have produced a DEAFENING NOISE that would have "DROWNED-OUT" much of Neil Armstrong's recorded voice. THAT NEVER HAPPENED. Can you spell the word F-R-A-U-D!!!!!

    • @jeromewatts2262
      @jeromewatts2262 Před 2 lety +9

      @@FatManDoubleZero tell me you failed highschool science without telling me you failed highschool science

    • @Amphibrick
      @Amphibrick Před 2 lety +5

      @@FatManDoubleZero It's actually very simple. The USSR would have called out the USA as hoaxers if the USA had NOT pulled this off, especially since the USSR had orbited the first human being in all of history in 1961. The USSR"s pride would not have let the USA off the hook on a faked moon landing, let alone SIX moon landings through 1972. Why would the USSR congratulate the USA on such accomplishments? Surely, the entire USSR were most likely smarter than you and I! The USSR sent their congratulations to the USA. if the USA faked it, WOW, congratulations would be in order regardless of whether the USA went to the moon or not!

    • @spirituelleOOinfo
      @spirituelleOOinfo Před 2 lety +1

      and how would that computer know where the spacecraft aktually is ???
      it can not calculate anything without getting actual data.
      in the vid this clown is talking that the astronauts did activate it "just at the right moment" - but thats nonsense because when they are flying with such a speed they would have needed the right mikrosecond to press the button...
      so - this computer is just another proof of the moonlanding fake..

  • @Kennymac8251
    @Kennymac8251 Před 3 lety +18

    Thought it was going to be very dry. Could not stop watching. Utterly fascinating. As someone that watched this live on tv at the time I never knew what really was happening at the time. Thanks for the video.

  • @davewilkirson2320
    @davewilkirson2320 Před rokem +6

    Well done. I'm a retired EE and enjoyed this presentation. I worked with Protel for some bit of time. A derivative of Pascal for the DMS product (Northern Telecom). I was 12 in 1969. Glued to the TV screen at each launch.

  • @JP-sw5ho
    @JP-sw5ho Před 8 měsíci +2

    This is one of the best things on CZcams

  • @kimholm4607
    @kimholm4607 Před 3 lety +47

    This is the first time I have seen the AGC onion peeled with such clarity - every stage is deeply understood and then simplified for ME :) - Thanks to Robert, thank you!

    • @MediaBrainwashDOTcom
      @MediaBrainwashDOTcom Před 3 lety

      Wouldn't it be amazing if they could actually set up simulated inputs and operate one of the few survivors of the 100-200 units manufactured? Oh, that's right, these are all non-repeatable experiments crafted to support a false narrative. I don't know how much space exploration has occurred, but I do know most of what NASA tells us is FAKE.

  • @captaincrunch5201
    @captaincrunch5201 Před 3 lety +55

    I used to work as a real time programmer with hundreds of I/O and a mix of high & low level languages plus a rudimentary interrupt mechanism, and not until this brilliant video did I realise the similarities with the Apollo system. Many of the concepts brought back professional memories!
    This video (or a customised version) should be on the school curriculum!

  • @johnnyzippo7109
    @johnnyzippo7109 Před rokem +1

    This man’s lecture on this topic is without a doubt the best that I have seen .

  • @ross302ci
    @ross302ci Před 2 měsíci

    I love that this is a conference presentation in a room with maybe maybe a few dozen people, and now it's been viewed by millions. The fact that this fantastic lecture didn't have to exist in only a moment is one of the coolest things about the age we live in. It's a double-edged sword for sure, but I love it for stuff like this. You have a real gift for communicating, Robert!

  • @lizardbyte
    @lizardbyte Před 2 lety +20

    “Don’t worry about the details, just enjoy the ride”!

  • @escalera601
    @escalera601 Před 3 lety +78

    Excellent talk. Cisco is lucky to have such a talented software engineer.

    • @hamobu
      @hamobu Před 3 lety +1

      Thanks presenter's mom!

    • @zholud
      @zholud Před 3 lety

      He should quit Cisco and work for ZyXell. Waste of talent to work for Cisco.

    • @Joskemom
      @Joskemom Před 3 lety

      This guy is excellent. Damn we need brilliant guys like this who can just explain things with so much ease. He needs to spend some time teaching and sharing his knowledge as he does his work at Cisco.

    • @jacklewis100
      @jacklewis100 Před 3 lety

      I thought he was Cisco from 'Flash' doing Richard Ayeode's voice :-)

    • @partypoet2012
      @partypoet2012 Před 3 lety

      @@hamobu ladies and gentlemen, before you drink all the Kool-Aid this channel can offer.. let me give you the opposing view ,,so that you can have a clear story here
      now we can talk about the satanic numerology that this guy uses and the satanic symbolism, that is prevalent throughout this whole video, if you want we can talk about that, another time..
      today let's talk about the fact that NASA has claimed, a bunch of times that all the Telemetry data has gone missing, 13000 reels, went.. bouncy balls, Baby Boom, bye bye along with every single schematic, to anything that went to the Moon, that would be the computers.. so I'm wondering where this guy came up with this cool story because it's not from NASA, they lost literally everything.. man's greatest achievement was completely lost.. but don't worry we're going to have an independent Computer Guy makeup even better stories than the ones you've seen in 69......
      and the picture that, he used, the iconic astronaut standing in front of the American flag, now that's heartwarming.. Until you realize that looks a lot like a studio-quality picture and here's the rub guys. the camera they were using needed to be completely adjusted. completely manual.. there is, no computer there, no AutoAnything remember, the good old days, where you had to metre the shot, adjust the f-stop, and then get the picture into Focus.. now I want you to do that with your eyes closed because they could not look into the camera, it's mounted on their chest and they have a huge salad bowl on their head ..they can't adjust the camera because their gloves are so freaking bulky and yet these guys we're taking one picture on average every 50 seconds and that includes changing locations, applying extra attention to certain details , sometimes having to move as much as 1.5 miles and yet they clicked one picture,, one studio-quality picture every 50 seconds.. go ask a photographer can this be done with a completely manual camera?? and the answer that all the moon landing deniers seem to be coming up with is an astounding... what a joke
      few of my favourite clips about the moon and their chopped full of laughs.....
      Can U See Stars Buzzed
      czcams.com/video/jFqDTxYegzI/video.html
      Top 10 NASA is BS
      czcams.com/video/pEE7OPKLhaM/video.html
      Hold Ur Head High---Simple Proof that the ISS is Nothing More than a Hollywood Production
      czcams.com/video/iwoudgUPqSM/video.html
      Do Not Watch This Video,, a great Flur Fur intro
      czcams.com/video/D0peS1oxYLo/video.html
      Flat EarthTruth documentary .
      Flat Earth - Best Presentation to Date, objective n honest
      czcams.com/video/YVLzPEoKhe0/video.html

  • @brucemcnutt8292
    @brucemcnutt8292 Před 2 lety +2

    Videos like this represent the best of what CZcams has to offer the world.

  • @kempez2
    @kempez2 Před 11 měsíci +25

    What a fantastic talk from someone clearly passionate and so knowledgeable. Particularly impressive handling the (very interesting) questions - makes it clear that you are speaking from a deep understanding of the subject. Thanks to TNMOC for making it available.

  • @DennisMurphey
    @DennisMurphey Před 3 lety +42

    Out Flipping Standing, I worked on the 1st CT Scanner in 1975 and we knew and followed many of these lessons for reliable, life saving imaging in CT Scanners. Yes, this was a brilliantly designed and executed briefing. I am shocked to see such a bright young fellow capable of a clear, understandable speech to such an old obscure subject of monumental importance. Just outstanding!!!!!!! Dennis in Virginia

  • @timr8473
    @timr8473 Před 3 lety +156

    I saw Robert giving a more recent version of this talk and I think it was one of the best presented and most engaging on-line talks I have ever seen, absolutely fascinating. As I understood what these designers and programmers achieved back in the mid sixties with such limited computing resources it really gave one a sense of 'awe and wonder' - how did they do so many new things in such a small time with almost no prior art.

    • @robertwills8051
      @robertwills8051 Před 3 lety +51

      Thanks Tim, I'm glad you enjoyed the online version I gave more recently. Yes, what they achieved with such limited computing power is very impressive. It's why phrases like "There's more computing power in your wristwatch than on Apollo" annoy me, because they miss the point. The AGC had an amazing amount of power, ingenuity and good design; they just achieved that with remarkably few transistors!

    • @LastV8Interceptors
      @LastV8Interceptors Před 3 lety +3

      @@robertwills8051 Cherished over-simplifications always end up that way. I want to ask you how timesharing was managed for the 7 job stack, but instead will go dig through the github code and see if it is timers in an interrupt, a giant loop, or what! It is probably possible to emulate the entire Apollo computer in software running on something like an old 8-bit MOS 6502, but it would not have all the redundancy, IO, and other features that make such an emulation nearly meaningless.
      I know you have to have seen them, but if you have not see what CZcamsr 'curious marc' and his team of spacegeeks have been doing you are missing out on something truly special!
      czcams.com/video/2KSahAoOLdU/video.html

    • @korky-7349
      @korky-7349 Před 3 lety +3

      Robert this is enlightening in every sense of the word !
      Thank you , and if i may say,we all would like to hear more such great presentations from you!

    • @jamesedwards6173
      @jamesedwards6173 Před 3 lety +5

      Indeed, some of the old-time engineering achievements really are immensely impressive. The AGC is one such astonishing feat, and learning more about it reminded me of another incredible video on old tech (at the time, though, it was outrageously innovative and prescient) that I've watched here on CZcams: look up "The Mother of All Demos, presented by Douglas Engelbart (1968)
      ". (Note: also from the 1960s.)

    • @LastV8Interceptors
      @LastV8Interceptors Před 3 lety +1

      @@jamesedwards6173 Fascinating video. I sadly do not have the patience\time to watch the entirety right now.
      It immediately reminded me of reading Ivan Sutherland's 1957(?) thesis on computer graphics.

  • @98of99
    @98of99 Před 4 měsíci +3

    Remarkable how brilliant NASA and MIT engineers made all this work with what they had - all cutting edge hardware and software at the time

  • @jeffjacobs1503
    @jeffjacobs1503 Před rokem +1

    As a computer systems engineer I will now always remember 99-62 and have some fun with that knowledge - thanks for that tidbit.

  • @petermurray2414
    @petermurray2414 Před 3 lety +313

    When asked how to explain complicated scientific matters to the public, Einstein replied that no scientist knew what he was doing unless he could walk out on to the street and explain i t the first man he met. Robert Willis is an outstanding communicator and would please Einstein.

    • @kdfox2007
      @kdfox2007 Před 3 lety +3

      Damn Straight!

    • @fredherfst8148
      @fredherfst8148 Před 3 lety +5

      My mantra: If you can't describe your great idea on the back of a used napkin..it won't sell or work!

    • @37rainman
      @37rainman Před 3 lety +2

      @@fredherfst8148 To be more correct, but maybe not pc, i recall he said: "if you cannot explain it to a barmaid, perhaps you dont ................",

    • @fredherfst8148
      @fredherfst8148 Před 3 lety +9

      @@37rainman ...I've had a few bar maids explain a few things to me!

    • @MikStorer
      @MikStorer Před 3 lety +5

      Still worthwhile as principle but isn't Einstein
      "This writer has heard this quote for years and always grown up with the assumption that it was, in fact, from Einstein himself. In hindsight, it should make sense that Einstein never said this as his work remains some of the most complex and thorough explanations of modern physics. Variants of this quote have been attributed to Ernest Rutherford when Rutherford said: "it should be possible to explain the laws of physics to a barmaid."

  • @sandweiler4640
    @sandweiler4640 Před 3 lety +139

    I hope this guy will teach one day in a famous University with an insane salary. He will deserve every penny.

    • @anthonybrett
      @anthonybrett Před 3 lety +10

      He wont get to unfortunately, the Universities are teaching us that 2+2 = 5 now.
      He's just not "post modern" enough. ;)

    • @voornaam3191
      @voornaam3191 Před 3 lety +2

      @@anthonybrett You forgot the i squared in that equasion. If you don't understand, please don't respond. IQ distribution in homo sapiens is just not fair. Too many are bloody stupid. Got that? Not your fault.

    • @anthonybrett
      @anthonybrett Před 3 lety +8

      @@voornaam3191 Its spelt "Equation" by the way. Not "equasion".
      What were you saying about IQ distribution? lol

    • @stepaushi
      @stepaushi Před 3 lety +4

      @@anthonybrett Its --> It's

    • @anthonybrett
      @anthonybrett Před 3 lety

      @@stepaushi lol, thanks! I can live with some lazy punctuation errors though.

  • @F1fan007
    @F1fan007 Před 6 měsíci +4

    Awesome and fascinating presentation!! A huge thank you for helping satisfy my years long curiosity about this subject. So glad to hear Margaret Hamilton received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Well deserved!!

  • @human.earthling
    @human.earthling Před 4 měsíci +5

    Amazing talk. Also guy reminds me of one of the guys from the British TV show IT Crowd

  • @krabkrabkrab
    @krabkrabkrab Před 3 lety +18

    I watched the moon landing live as a 15 year old. So many questions that in 52 have never been answered to my satisfaction. This answers those questions. Thanks, and also I might remark that I'm envious of Wills' speaking talent. I was captivated.

    • @leapmedia3713
      @leapmedia3713 Před 3 lety +1

      Your live video relayed from half a million km away by 0.5kb of ram. Give me a break

    • @carlmax46
      @carlmax46 Před 3 lety +1

      What makes you think a 15yo would know how a complicated device works. one that was designed by Doctoral Engineers and Mathematicians.

    • @Alex-kh8zj
      @Alex-kh8zj Před 3 lety +1

      @@leapmedia3713 u don't need lots of ram when u know almost exactly what you want to do

  • @alphascorpii185
    @alphascorpii185 Před 3 lety +13

    That's brilliant, one of the best conference I've ever heard, so clear. This young man speaks like a book. Bravo

  • @ArthurRobertson-ne7ik
    @ArthurRobertson-ne7ik Před 5 měsíci +3

    I watched that Landing live on my little black and white TV in 1969 I also heard them testing the lunar module descent and accent Engines outside of Las Cruces New Mexico in the mid-60s I was always fascinated by flight and extraterrestrial flight. Computers to me have always been as much or more mysterious than space flight, so to hear a program like this is just super great now to learn so much about the Apollo computer which I knew nothing of thank you so much, wonderful information

  • @sethagreen
    @sethagreen Před rokem +20

    My grandpa was a programmer for NASA at this time. He was incredibly involved with this project. Thanks for putting this together. With him gone, I can't ask him questions that you were able to answer for me!

  • @Sadiquecat
    @Sadiquecat Před 3 lety +21

    I really appreciate the way he speaks. When asked a question he pauses and thinks about the answer, not as easy as it might seem.

  • @cyberlord64
    @cyberlord64 Před 3 lety +83

    This was surprisingly entertaining. I mean it's a movie sized presentation and yet I somehow wish it were longer. The presenter was great, clearly very knowledgeable in this area, there was synergy with the audience, actual interesting questions and observations during the q&a. What can I say, it's just a 10 out of 10 from me. Will definitely rewatch it in the future. These kinds of little gems is what restores my faith in youtube and it's declining quality of content...

    • @evan8654
      @evan8654 Před 3 lety

      Agreed, interesting content is getting buried in garbage.

  • @thlee3
    @thlee3 Před 6 měsíci +2

    im watching this in 1080 on my smartphone and this presentation is blowing my mind!!

  • @ianferguson3543
    @ianferguson3543 Před 8 měsíci +1

    It was the 21st of July in the UK. My birthday. I stayed up all night to watch and listen.

  • @robj1646
    @robj1646 Před 3 lety +18

    In July 1969 I was 15 years young and my dad, my brother and I had chained ourselves to our B&W TV and watched it happening live. Your presentation has given this thrilling event much more depth, after all these years. Thank you so much!

    • @Stefan-gh7xr
      @Stefan-gh7xr Před 3 lety

      Yes it was a nice hollywood production. Sorry to destroy your illusions. It is time humanity wakes up.

    • @evelynlima5616
      @evelynlima5616 Před 2 lety

      @@Stefan-gh7xr go get treatment 🤨

  • @kellycarmouche7452
    @kellycarmouche7452 Před 3 lety +3

    The Sophisticated Flawless Computer Technology that’s taken 50 years to truly explain, Robert Wills gives a riveting video presentation! The 1202 alarm....N.A.is cool, calm and collected... the three second nail biting response update , from Earth, 230,000 miles away! Amazing and cutting edge for its time! Bravo!

  • @craigtelke
    @craigtelke Před rokem +3

    Fascinating. This is an amazing presentation. I work in Telecom and the Nortel DMS system is based on all of these Apollo learnings and maintains these design principles and It is also is still processing millions of telephone calls to this day.

  • @russellszabadosaka5-pindin849
    @russellszabadosaka5-pindin849 Před 9 měsíci +1

    My dad was a systems analyst, I'm a professional musician. But his enthusiasm for computers and programming (on mainframes in the 70's) rubbed off enough for me to thoroughly enjoy this talk. I've watched it twice as of today and I'm sure I'll be returning to it again and again.

  • @andrewrobinson2565
    @andrewrobinson2565 Před 3 lety +18

    I wish I had been as good a teacher as this guy. He's marvellous.

    • @LeonDDel
      @LeonDDel Před 3 lety

      My own thought is this was not seen by him he must have been a baby at the time if he was alive so it's second hand knowledge which I don't subscribe to!

    • @andrewrobinson2565
      @andrewrobinson2565 Před 3 lety

      @@LeonDDel Wow. So you only believe anything you've ever learned from eye-witnesses?
      Darwin on Evolution, Einstein on e=mc2?
      Somewhat limiting, but your Weltanschauung, your right.

  • @Kevinrothwell1959
    @Kevinrothwell1959 Před 3 lety +12

    I thought I'd only be here for 5 minutes or so, yet here i am an hour and twenty minutes later! Compelling!

  • @therealzilch
    @therealzilch Před 5 měsíci +3

    Fascinating, well explained, and entertaining. Thank you.
    Not surprisingly, the title of this video garnered lots of predictable comments by deniers along the lines of "my cell phone can play _Call of Duty,_ the Apollo computer didn't even have a touchscreen, therefore it's all fake".
    Sigh. Too bad they just read the title and didn't watch- they might have learned something. Cheers from overcast Vienna, Scott

  • @jameswagner19599
    @jameswagner19599 Před rokem +1

    Outstanding presentation.........I was 10 years old when I listened to the Apollo moon landing live on the radio as we didn't have TV yet is South Africa and this must be the best account of the actual landing I have ever read, watched or heard.

  • @ElSmusso
    @ElSmusso Před 3 lety +14

    Captivating story about the AGC. I’ll never forget that summer night in 69... 8 years old

  • @JohnBerthoty
    @JohnBerthoty Před 2 lety +81

    Being a retired programmer + being at the splashdown site of Apollo 11 (AND Apollo 10) = Loved this presentation! Well done!

    • @1967bigjohnny
      @1967bigjohnny Před 2 lety

      Was it not the case the tech at the time it was solid state tech rather than modern tech , i know they are going back to solid state for several aplications , John

    • @Chicken_Soy
      @Chicken_Soy Před 2 lety

      Hi

  • @TheSkydiverphoenix
    @TheSkydiverphoenix Před 5 měsíci +2

    This guy is the definition of computer nerd. I say that as a complement! This dude is very smart.

  • @petewilliams4965
    @petewilliams4965 Před rokem +1

    Like probably many here I started watching expecting to watch 5 minutes, and ended up watching the whole thing. Awesome job!!

  • @StationGarageSt
    @StationGarageSt Před 3 lety +6

    Thank you Robert. Really fascinating lecture, from that lady "knitting" Apollo's binary memory to the Q&A! I was just 11yrs old when Apollo11 landed. Watching the black and white TV with my dad, we sat fascinated. My father casually mentioned (being himself then 63ys old (b.1906))that he remembered the world being in awe at Charles Lindbergh's NY -Paris non stop flight in 1927, just 18yrs after Louis Bleriot's first flight across the channel. ".....to sit here with you son, seeing a man on the moon in my own lifetime is really quite unbelievable".

  • @marearp
    @marearp Před 3 lety +230

    The Apollo Guidance Computer:
    "I need 55W and I flew the Apollo missions to the moon and back"
    My GTX 1080:
    "I consume 150W and Cyberpunk scares me"

    • @AltheRad
      @AltheRad Před 3 lety +1

      maybe also bitbusters? pretty funny, 4sure

    • @joesretrostuff
      @joesretrostuff Před 2 lety +1

      Yeah I have an RTX 3070 and Cyberpunk still scares it

    • @thegreathadoken6808
      @thegreathadoken6808 Před 2 lety +19

      Then there can only be sensible one conclusion:
      What's going on in your GPU's calculation of Cyberpunk's graphics is orders of magnitude more than what's going on in the AGC's calculations for the moon missions. Which isn't a dismissive handwaving of your comment or the moon missions, quite the opposite: It's a plea for others not to dismiss what games are doing in terms of the technology powering them. It just shows the advanced math going on in modern gaming, and how something as profound in human advancement as going to the moon isn't necessarily more complicated in computing power requirements than a piece of entertainment.

    • @Bleh1217
      @Bleh1217 Před 2 lety +2

      @@thegreathadoken6808 That's some wise shit.

    • @MrCrunkedude2
      @MrCrunkedude2 Před 2 lety

      @@Bleh1217 aaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

  • @attikaifinch
    @attikaifinch Před 5 měsíci +2

    Fantastic talk. Props to speaker, he did an excellent job creating an enthralling narrative with all the information

  • @roberth3662
    @roberth3662 Před 3 měsíci +2

    What a wonderful talk! The history of technology development in such a special era. I think this video is one for the archives for centuries from now. Well done. I particularly loved the acknowledgements of a few exceptional people.

  • @TandaMadison
    @TandaMadison Před 3 lety +7

    What a wonderful talk. As a firmware designer, I have such amazing respect for the folks who did all of this in the early days without having a history of embedded system concepts to lean on.

  • @gillesguillochon8721
    @gillesguillochon8721 Před 3 lety +12

    The 20 of July 69, (i was 16 years old, in France,) I was in front of a low definition black and white tv set to see what has become history. It's a lot of years latter that I read this "1202 " error code story. Thanks Rpbert for your brilliant lecture. Your passion is obvious, and your presentation fantastic and accurate. Gilles,.

    • @robertwills8051
      @robertwills8051 Před 3 lety +1

      Thanks Gilles, it must have been exciting to watch that grainy, low definition picture. I'm glad you enjoyed my lecture.

    • @harryraam9566
      @harryraam9566 Před 3 lety

      all lies, brainwashed by that box in the corner of the room.

    • @gillesguillochon8721
      @gillesguillochon8721 Před 3 lety

      ​@@harryraam9566, what are the lies you're talking about? Sorry, I don't understand you...

    • @partypoet2012
      @partypoet2012 Před 3 lety

      @@harryraam9566 ladies and gentlemen, before you drink all the Kool-Aid this channel can offer.. let me give you the opposing view ,,so that you can have a clear story here
      now we can talk about the satanic numerology that this guy uses and the satanic symbolism, that is prevalent throughout this whole video, if you want we can talk about that, another time..
      today let's talk about the fact that NASA has claimed, a bunch of times that all the Telemetry data has gone missing, 13000 reels, went.. bouncy balls, Baby Boom, bye bye along with every single schematic, to anything that went to the Moon, that would be the computers.. so I'm wondering where this guy came up with this cool story because it's not from NASA, they lost literally everything.. man's greatest achievement was completely lost.. but don't worry we're going to have an independent Computer Guy makeup even better stories than the ones you've seen in 69......
      and the picture that, he used, the iconic astronaut standing in front of the American flag, now that's heartwarming.. Until you realize that looks a lot like a studio-quality picture and here's the rub guys. the camera they were using needed to be completely adjusted. completely manual.. there is, no computer there, no AutoAnything remember, the good old days, where you had to metre the shot, adjust the f-stop, and then get the picture into Focus.. now I want you to do that with your eyes closed because they could not look into the camera, it's mounted on their chest and they have a huge salad bowl on their head ..they can't adjust the camera because their gloves are so freaking bulky and yet these guys we're taking one picture on average every 50 seconds and that includes changing locations, applying extra attention to certain details , sometimes having to move as much as 1.5 miles and yet they clicked one picture,, one studio-quality picture every 50 seconds.. go ask a photographer can this be done with a completely manual camera?? and the answer that all the moon landing deniers seem to be coming up with is an astounding... what a joke
      few of my favourite clips about the moon and their chopped full of laughs.....
      Can U See Stars Buzzed
      czcams.com/video/jFqDTxYegzI/video.html
      Top 10 NASA is BS
      czcams.com/video/pEE7OPKLhaM/video.html
      Hold Ur Head High---Simple Proof that the ISS is Nothing More than a Hollywood Production
      czcams.com/video/iwoudgUPqSM/video.html
      Do Not Watch This Video,, a great Flur Fur intro
      czcams.com/video/D0peS1oxYLo/video.html
      Flat EarthTruth documentary .
      Flat Earth - Best Presentation to Date, objective n honest
      czcams.com/video/YVLzPEoKhe0/video.html

    • @CNCmachiningisfun
      @CNCmachiningisfun Před 3 lety

      @@partypoet2012
      *GET A LIFE, YOU SPAMMER!*

  • @hctee
    @hctee Před 7 měsíci +3

    Fantastic presentation. Thank you.

  • @mathewsgeorge8250
    @mathewsgeorge8250 Před 3 měsíci +4

    Really so clearly and enthusiastically presented. I was lucky enough to watch a few of the Apollo missions shown live on black and white television in Malaysia, including the lunar landing, and now still being able to be awed by this young man's presentation 😊. Thanks, and Happy New Year 2024 to all🎉

  • @williammcnamee3360
    @williammcnamee3360 Před 3 lety +45

    Robert Wills' coverage of the AGC is suburb. He tells a story in an engaging way and, having viewed many videos on this subject, he conveys the most precise technical coverage of this computer, beautifully woven into a riveting narrative. Many thanks.

    • @poldermanp
      @poldermanp Před 3 lety +2

      The best presentation i have seen in years!

    • @RonHeusdens
      @RonHeusdens Před 3 lety +1

      @@poldermanp agree!

    • @Lino1259
      @Lino1259 Před 3 lety +1

      you mean superb, right? :D

    • @partypoet2012
      @partypoet2012 Před 3 lety

      @@poldermanp ladies and gentlemen, before you drink all the Kool-Aid this channel can offer.. let me give you the opposing view ,,so that you can have a clear story here
      now we can talk about the satanic numerology that this guy uses and the satanic symbolism, that is prevalent throughout this whole video, if you want we can talk about that, another time..
      today let's talk about the fact that NASA has claimed, a bunch of times that all the Telemetry data has gone missing, 13000 reels, went.. bouncy balls, Baby Boom, bye bye along with every single schematic, to anything that went to the Moon, that would be the computers.. so I'm wondering where this guy came up with this cool story because it's not from NASA, they lost literally everything.. man's greatest achievement was completely lost.. but don't worry we're going to have an independent Computer Guy makeup even better stories than the ones you've seen in 69......
      and the picture that, he used, the iconic astronaut standing in front of the American flag, now that's heartwarming.. Until you realize that looks a lot like a studio-quality picture and here's the rub guys. the camera they were using needed to be completely adjusted. completely manual.. there is, no computer there, no AutoAnything remember, the good old days, where you had to metre the shot, adjust the f-stop, and then get the picture into Focus.. now I want you to do that with your eyes closed because they could not look into the camera, it's mounted on their chest and they have a huge salad bowl on their head ..they can't adjust the camera because their gloves are so freaking bulky and yet these guys we're taking one picture on average every 50 seconds and that includes changing locations, applying extra attention to certain details , sometimes having to move as much as 1.5 miles and yet they clicked one picture,, one studio-quality picture every 50 seconds.. go ask a photographer can this be done with a completely manual camera?? and the answer that all the moon landing deniers seem to be coming up with is an astounding... what a joke
      few of my favourite clips about the moon and their chopped full of laughs.....
      Can U See Stars Buzzed
      czcams.com/video/jFqDTxYegzI/video.html
      Top 10 NASA is BS
      czcams.com/video/pEE7OPKLhaM/video.html
      Hold Ur Head High---Simple Proof that the ISS is Nothing More than a Hollywood Production
      czcams.com/video/iwoudgUPqSM/video.html
      Do Not Watch This Video,, a great Flur Fur intro
      czcams.com/video/D0peS1oxYLo/video.html
      Flat EarthTruth documentary .
      Flat Earth - Best Presentation to Date, objective n honest
      czcams.com/video/YVLzPEoKhe0/video.html

    • @stevewhite3424
      @stevewhite3424 Před 3 lety +1

      @@partypoet2012 I am curious, do you think that pasting your diatribe in every thread is somehow making you look smarter?

  • @ramon2006b
    @ramon2006b Před 3 lety +21

    That fixed memory programming with wires blow my mind absolutely!

    • @robertwills8051
      @robertwills8051 Před 3 lety +25

      Yes it's very unusual isn't it! When the programmers were developing the code, they used a special device called a "Core Rope Simulator". This pretended to be the fixed memory (ie it behaved the same electrically), but the programmers could upload new programs to it to test.
      When it came to producing the final fixed memory, as I said in my talk this was woven together using wires (see 10:00 in the video). In the factory there was a machine which had the final machine code loaded into it as data. The machine would tell the textile worker which ring to wire through next based on the machine code, and he or she would thread the wire. The machine-assistance helped them get the correct final result, but ultimately it took a lot of human skill and dexterity to thread the wire.

    • @oliverfrank8124
      @oliverfrank8124 Před 3 lety +3

      We have a bit of this type of memory sitting in our school's CS department, it's really incredible to see how tiny the weave is.

    • @partypoet2012
      @partypoet2012 Před 3 lety +1

      @@robertwills8051 ladies and gentlemen, before you drink all the Kool-Aid this channel can offer.. let me give you the opposing view ,,so that you can have a clear story here
      now we can talk about the satanic numerology that this guy uses and the satanic symbolism, that is prevalent throughout this whole video, if you want we can talk about that, another time..
      today let's talk about the fact that NASA has claimed, a bunch of times that all the Telemetry data has gone missing, 13000 reels, went.. bouncy balls, Baby Boom, bye bye along with every single schematic, to anything that went to the Moon, that would be the computers.. so I'm wondering where this guy came up with this cool story because it's not from NASA, they lost literally everything.. man's greatest achievement was completely lost.. but don't worry we're going to have an independent Computer Guy makeup even better stories than the ones you've seen in 69......
      and the picture that, he used, the iconic astronaut standing in front of the American flag, now that's heartwarming.. Until you realize that looks a lot like a studio-quality picture and here's the rub guys. the camera they were using needed to be completely adjusted. completely manual.. there is, no computer there, no AutoAnything remember, the good old days, where you had to metre the shot, adjust the f-stop, and then get the picture into Focus.. now I want you to do that with your eyes closed because they could not look into the camera, it's mounted on their chest and they have a huge salad bowl on their head ..they can't adjust the camera because their gloves are so freaking bulky and yet these guys we're taking one picture on average every 50 seconds and that includes changing locations, applying extra attention to certain details , sometimes having to move as much as 1.5 miles and yet they clicked one picture,, one studio-quality picture every 50 seconds.. go ask a photographer can this be done with a completely manual camera?? and the answer that all the moon landing deniers seem to be coming up with is an astounding... what a joke
      few of my favourite clips about the moon and their chopped full of laughs.....
      Can U See Stars Buzzed
      czcams.com/video/jFqDTxYegzI/video.html
      Top 10 NASA is BS
      czcams.com/video/pEE7OPKLhaM/video.html
      Hold Ur Head High---Simple Proof that the ISS is Nothing More than a Hollywood Production
      czcams.com/video/iwoudgUPqSM/video.html
      Do Not Watch This Video,, a great Flur Fur intro
      czcams.com/video/D0peS1oxYLo/video.html
      Flat EarthTruth documentary .
      Flat Earth - Best Presentation to Date, objective n honest
      czcams.com/video/YVLzPEoKhe0/video.html

    • @Alrukitaf
      @Alrukitaf Před 3 lety

      So - the memory is in the woven wires? Remarkable!

    • @CNCmachiningisfun
      @CNCmachiningisfun Před 3 lety

      @@partypoet2012
      *DOPEY, LYING, SPAMMING,* flatturds!

  • @rlcuda
    @rlcuda Před 7 měsíci +1

    I can assure you that the number of people who would have loved to attend this presentation in person would have filled a stadium. It's like a humble guitar teacher with a handful of students not realizing he's actually a rock star.

    • @papalegba6796
      @papalegba6796 Před 6 měsíci

      Nah it's like forrest gump with a slideshow 😂

  • @peteking4958
    @peteking4958 Před 2 lety +3

    I didn't think I'd have the patience to watch the whole talk, as interesting as it looked, but I could not help but stick with it, finding it absolutely fascinating! Took me back to the early 80's when I had a ZX81 and then a Lynx and learnt to write code in Z80B machine language. Oh happy days!!

  • @mesonparticle
    @mesonparticle Před 4 lety +139

    This talk was absolutely damn fascinating!

    • @rubybrady7051
      @rubybrady7051 Před 3 lety +1

      One cheer for Hollywood

    • @mesonparticle
      @mesonparticle Před 3 lety

      @@rubybrady7051 Lol! 😂

    • @CNCmachiningisfun
      @CNCmachiningisfun Před 3 lety

      @@rubybrady7051
      What's Hollywood got to do with it?

    • @redwater4778
      @redwater4778 Před 3 lety

      @@CNCmachiningisfun She's in love with Ryan Gosling

    • @partypoet2012
      @partypoet2012 Před 3 lety

      @@CNCmachiningisfun ladies and gentlemen, before you drink all the Kool-Aid this channel can offer.. let me give you the opposing view ,,so that you can have a clear story here
      now we can talk about the satanic numerology that this guy uses and the satanic symbolism, that is prevalent throughout this whole video, if you want we can talk about that, another time..
      today let's talk about the fact that NASA has claimed, a bunch of times that all the Telemetry data has gone missing, 13000 reels, went.. bouncy balls, Baby Boom, bye bye along with every single schematic, to anything that went to the Moon, that would be the computers.. so I'm wondering where this guy came up with this cool story because it's not from NASA, they lost literally everything.. man's greatest achievement was completely lost.. but don't worry we're going to have an independent Computer Guy makeup even better stories than the ones you've seen in 69......
      and the picture that, he used, the iconic astronaut standing in front of the American flag, now that's heartwarming.. Until you realize that looks a lot like a studio-quality picture and here's the rub guys. the camera they were using needed to be completely adjusted. completely manual.. there is, no computer there, no AutoAnything remember, the good old days, where you had to metre the shot, adjust the f-stop, and then get the picture into Focus.. now I want you to do that with your eyes closed because they could not look into the camera, it's mounted on their chest and they have a huge salad bowl on their head ..they can't adjust the camera because their gloves are so freaking bulky and yet these guys we're taking one picture on average every 50 seconds and that includes changing locations, applying extra attention to certain details , sometimes having to move as much as 1.5 miles and yet they clicked one picture,, one studio-quality picture every 50 seconds.. go ask a photographer can this be done with a completely manual camera?? and the answer that all the moon landing deniers seem to be coming up with is an astounding... what a joke
      few of my favourite clips about the moon and their chopped full of laughs.....
      Can U See Stars Buzzed
      czcams.com/video/jFqDTxYegzI/video.html
      Top 10 NASA is BS
      czcams.com/video/pEE7OPKLhaM/video.html
      Hold Ur Head High---Simple Proof that the ISS is Nothing More than a Hollywood Production
      czcams.com/video/iwoudgUPqSM/video.html
      Do Not Watch This Video,, a great Flur Fur intro
      czcams.com/video/D0peS1oxYLo/video.html
      Flat EarthTruth documentary .
      Flat Earth - Best Presentation to Date, objective n honest
      czcams.com/video/YVLzPEoKhe0/video.html

  • @arthurbooty7542
    @arthurbooty7542 Před 3 lety +16

    In 1971 I was working on designing computer-controlled telephone exchanges and the computers we used and programmed were almost exact copies of those Robert described, including techniques of re-using memory locations for functions which were time-separated.

    • @MikeTSager
      @MikeTSager Před 3 lety +2

      Same year as you I was working on a telex exchange that was very similar. The day we figured how to a common computation in 4 instructions rather than 5 we went to the pub for the rest of the day. We also sometimes executed temporary code placed in the data storage area..

    • @partypoet2012
      @partypoet2012 Před 3 lety

      @@MikeTSager ladies and gentlemen, before you drink all the Kool-Aid this channel can offer.. let me give you the opposing view ,,so that you can have a clear story here
      now we can talk about the satanic numerology that this guy uses and the satanic symbolism, that is prevalent throughout this whole video, if you want we can talk about that, another time..
      today let's talk about the fact that NASA has claimed, a bunch of times that all the Telemetry data has gone missing, 13000 reels, went.. bouncy balls, Baby Boom, bye bye along with every single schematic, to anything that went to the Moon, that would be the computers.. so I'm wondering where this guy came up with this cool story because it's not from NASA, they lost literally everything.. man's greatest achievement was completely lost.. but don't worry we're going to have an independent Computer Guy makeup even better stories than the ones you've seen in 69......
      and the picture that, he used, the iconic astronaut standing in front of the American flag, now that's heartwarming.. Until you realize that looks a lot like a studio-quality picture and here's the rub guys. the camera they were using needed to be completely adjusted. completely manual.. there is, no computer there, no AutoAnything remember, the good old days, where you had to metre the shot, adjust the f-stop, and then get the picture into Focus.. now I want you to do that with your eyes closed because they could not look into the camera, it's mounted on their chest and they have a huge salad bowl on their head ..they can't adjust the camera because their gloves are so freaking bulky and yet these guys we're taking one picture on average every 50 seconds and that includes changing locations, applying extra attention to certain details , sometimes having to move as much as 1.5 miles and yet they clicked one picture,, one studio-quality picture every 50 seconds.. go ask a photographer can this be done with a completely manual camera?? and the answer that all the moon landing deniers seem to be coming up with is an astounding... what a joke
      few of my favourite clips about the moon and their chopped full of laughs.....
      Can U See Stars Buzzed
      czcams.com/video/jFqDTxYegzI/video.html
      Top 10 NASA is BS
      czcams.com/video/pEE7OPKLhaM/video.html
      Hold Ur Head High---Simple Proof that the ISS is Nothing More than a Hollywood Production
      czcams.com/video/iwoudgUPqSM/video.html
      Do Not Watch This Video,, a great Flur Fur intro
      czcams.com/video/D0peS1oxYLo/video.html
      Flat EarthTruth documentary .
      Flat Earth - Best Presentation to Date, objective n honest
      czcams.com/video/YVLzPEoKhe0/video.html

    • @jwadaow
      @jwadaow Před 3 lety

      Did you use Erlang?

    • @jwadaow
      @jwadaow Před 3 lety

      @@partypoet2012 You used to be able to buy disposable cameras with no ability to adjust the frame, shutter or lens and then take them to be developed. Same with a Polaroid.

    • @arthurbooty7542
      @arthurbooty7542 Před 3 lety

      @@jwadaow Certainly did.

  • @TheAdamsAZ
    @TheAdamsAZ Před 4 měsíci +2

    Nerd Bliss !
    I rewinded on a few points so I could get it right.
    Really drives the point of how awesome the guidance computer really was !

  • @KarldorisLambley
    @KarldorisLambley Před 3 měsíci +2

    this video has had a very profound effect on me. i first saw it 2 years ago. when i did i didn't know the details of apollo, or how computers worked, or how rockets worked or how electronics worked. so i learned all i could about apollo, i started making model rockets, i started playing kerbal, i watched all the vids by ben eater, electroboom, and bigclive. i bought a function generator, an oscilloscope, 2 bench supplies, and boxes and boxes of components. all on account of this vid. so it is great to watch it again and nod my head wisely as it plays, rather than shaking it in bewilderment.

    • @h.dejong2531
      @h.dejong2531 Před 3 měsíci

      If you're interested in the electronics of the AGC, have a look at CuriousMarc's channel. He has a whole series of videos on restoring various Apollo electronics including the AGC.