posted 11-02-2007 05:24 AM               

As Apollo 11's Lunar Module descended toward the moon under automatic control, a program alarm in the guidance computer's software nearly caused a mission abort. Neil Armstrong responded by switching off the automatic mode and taking direct control. He stopped monitoring the computer and began flying the spacecraft, relying on skill to land it and earning praise for a triumph of human over machine.

In Digital Apollo, engineer-historian David Mindell takes this famous moment as a starting point for an exploration of the relationship between humans and computers in the Apollo program. In each of the six Apollo landings, the astronaut in command seized control from the computer and landed with his hand on the stick. Mindell recounts the story of astronauts' desire to control their spacecraft in parallel with the history of the Apollo Guidance Computer. From the early days of aviation through the birth of spaceflight, test pilots and astronauts sought to be more than "spam in a can" despite the automatic controls, digital computers, and software developed by engineers. Digital Apollo examines the design and execution of each of the six Apollo moon landings, drawing on transcripts and data telemetry from the flights, astronaut interviews, and NASA's extensive archives.

Mindell's exploration of how human pilots and automated systems worked together to achieve the ultimate in flight -- a lunar landing -- traces and reframes the debate over the future of humans and automation in space. The results have implications for any venture in which human roles seem threatened by automated systems, whether it is the work at our desktops or the future of exploration.

About the Author
David A. Mindell is Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing, Professor of Engineering Systems, and Director of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. He is the author of Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing before Cybernetics and War, Technology, and Experience aboard the USS Monitor.

• Hardcover: 456 pages
  
• Publisher: The MIT Press (May 31, 2008)
  
• ISBN-10: 0262134977
  
• ISBN-13: 978-0262134972

posted 11-02-2007 07:53 AM               

I have read (and proofed) the initial draft of the book. Dr. Mindell's book will allow the average reader to understand what transpired during the last 50,000 feet of descent to the lunar surface.

Digital Apollo explores the man/machine relationship in the history of aviation and space flight, but focuses on the lunar landing as a premier example of human interface with machines in exploration and flight.

Dr. Mindell is an explorer in his own right. He worked with Robert Ballard during the Titanic, Bismark and Midway expeditions. He has built AOVs and is currently involved in the search for ancient shipwrecks in conjunction with the Greek Government.

posted 05-24-2008 03:45 PM               

Computer reconstruction of Neil Armstrong's view out the Lunar Module on Apollo 11, 520 feet above the lunar surface just as he transferred from automatic control to semi-manual "attitude hold" (note his hand reaching for the switch), to fly the vehicle past West crater (visible out the window) to a smooth area for landing. Note the landing point designator, the graded angles on the window that would guide Armstrong's eye to the computers estimate of a landing spot, and the 1202 program alarm indications on the guidance computer display at lower right.

The image was created according to the author's conception by digital artist John Knoll, with research input from Paul Fjeld. A small number of compromises were made in order to create the image: the viewpoint is actually about 18 inches behind where Armstrong's would have been; the view of West Crater is a few seconds out of sync with the mission timer and the events depicted inside the LM; the 1202 alarm, the last of them, occurred approximately 15 seconds earlier so it would most likely have been cleared from the display by this point; some of the checklists that the crew had arrayed around them may be missing; boulders around the crater are included from Armstrong's description.

The LM interior was modeled in AutoDesSys FormZ and LuxologyModo from a variety of reference sources, including NASA drawings, historical photographs, and photographs of the LM simulator at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Long Island. The lunar surface was modeled in Luxology Modo using lunar orbiter photographs and the Apollo 11 powered descent film as reference. Textures were created in Adobe Photoshop. Final rendering was done in LuxologyModo.

posted 05-27-2008 02:55 PM               

While the later landings are not given the focus that the book grants to the first two landings, the overall treatment of the lunar landing problem and the software challenges are presented in a near-perfect mix of technical material and operational interpretation.

My view of the book overall is very positive, but by the end I felt as though the issue of man vs. machine had been thrashed about all it could be, and there could have been more robust use of graphics to help visually demonstrate some of the operational aspects discussed in the text. Given John Knoll's excellent cover photo creation, the interior was rather sparse for graphical backup, featuring only simple charts, many of which we've seen before in other sources.

posted 07-26-2008 07:20 PM            

As Apollo 11's Lunar Module descended toward the moon under automatic control, a program alarm in the guidance computer's software nearly caused a mission abort. Neil Armstrong responded by switching off the automatic mode and taking direct control.

posted 07-26-2008 07:28 PM               

This doesn't excuse it, but it is an explanation.

posted 10-30-2009 07:17 AM               

David A. Mindell, MIT
"Human and Machine in Spaceflight"

Thursday, November 12, 2009, 3:30 PM
University of Houston, Main Campus, Garrison 209

David A. Mindell , Professor of History of Engineering and Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His recent book, Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight (MIT Press, 2008), was selected as the Eugene Emme outstanding book in astronautics for the past year by the American Astronautical Society. He has degrees in Literature and in Electrical Engineering from Yale University, and a doctorate in the History of Technology from MIT.