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#apolloguidancecomputer#agc#34c3

34C3 - The Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk

media.ccc.de

274K subscribers • 56 videos on Hallway • Conference channel

YouTube
  • Recommended by 10 people: 9 on Hacker News and 1 on Lobsters.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2018 to 2025.
  • Presented by Michael Steil, retrocomputing researcher

Intermediate. Assumes working knowledge.

324K views8 years ago10 recommendations

HardwareHistory and cultureCPUs and computer architectureOperating systemsHistory of computing

Michael Steil and Christian Hessmann explain the hardware architecture, operating system, and mission software of the Apollo Guidance Computer.

media.ccc.de/v/34c3-9064-the_ultimate_apollo_guidance_comput… The Apollo Guidance Computer ("AGC") was used onboard the Apollo spacecraft to support the Apollo moon landings between 1969 and 1972. This talk explains "everything about the AGC", including its quirky but clever hardware design, its revolutionary OS, and how its software allowed humans to reach and explore the moon. Michael Steil Christian Hessmann fahrplan.events.ccc.de/congress/2017/Fahrplan/events/9064.ht…

Why it's here

10 people recommend this

What people say. Highly recommended as the definitive, comprehensive technical breakdown of the Apollo Guidance Computer's hardware and software.

balloonaticon Lobsters • Recommends

The Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk This is a fascinating, dense, and thorough overview of the requirements, architecture and operation of the Apollo Guidance Computer. Briefly mentioned at the end is that a number of engineering models are unaccounted for; one such was bought in a job-lot auction of two tonnes of NASA scrap a few years ago, and is currently being restored and documented in an equally interesting series of vlogs, the first of which is here: link to this video
11View on Lobsters

emily-con Hacker News • Recommends

On “Virtual Apollo Guidance Computer”

This is awesome. If you haven't seen this talk about the AGC you should definitely check it out: link to this video
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mopsion Hacker News • Recommends

On “Apollo 11 Had a Hidden Hero: Software”

This is the best description of AGC I have seen so far, from hardware design to mission software, layer by layer: "The Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk" link to this video
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Zannethon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Apollo 11 Had a Hidden Hero: Software”

If anyone wants to learn more about the Apollo Guidance Computer, this talk1 from 34C3 will teach you everything you wanted to know and more. The AGC had some really fascinating features for the time, including a cooperative multitasking system, interrupt driven IO, and even a virtual machine for doing linear algebra! 1 link to this video
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shadowofneptuneon Hacker News • Recommends

On “The Apollo On-Board Computers”

The best presentation I have seen on the AGC architecture: link to this video It does present addresses in hexadecimal, oddly. The computer was 15-bit and used octal in its display panel. I suppose the presenters thought the audience would understand hex better.
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_jhollandon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Virtual Apollo Guidance Computer”

For a comprehensive exposition of the technical aspects of the AGC, look no further than the Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk: link to this video They not only do a brilliant job of exposing this niche system, but it is a foundational lecture for my knowledge of computer architecture in general
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msarnoffon Hacker News • Recommends

On “How MOS 6502 Illegal Opcodes Work (2008)”

Michael’s blog is one of my favorites. His “Ultimate Guide” talks are great and I rewatch them at least once a year. Ultimate Guide to the C64: link Ultimate Guide to the Game Boy: link Ultimate Guide to the Apollo Guidance Computer: link to this video
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theclawon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Apollo AGC Restoration Part 1 [video]”

This is amazing to see - completely unpotted AGC! I've been following Curiousmarc's channel for a while and it's great to see this. Anyone interested in AGC stuff might also want to check out this video from the 34th Chaos Communication Congress that exhaustively explains how it works: link to this video
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lhoffon Hacker News • Recommends

On “ Software woven into wire: Core rope and the Apollo Guidance Computer”

For anyone interested in the AGC itself I can recommend the "ultimative Apollo guidance computer talk" link to this video
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Banana699on Hacker News • Recommends

On “On rebooting: the unreasonable effectiveness of turning computers off and on”

Mandatory Light Years Ahead | The 1969 Apollo Guidance Computer link 34C3 - The Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk link to this video
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CanaryLayouton Hacker News • Mentions

On “Downfall Attacks”

> Aren't system designers at fault for coming up with the idea of a context switch Context switching was in the Apollo 11 guidance computer link to this video The problem is that cycle-speed boosts left the industry cic. 2012-or-so. All the perf boost we get these days is by optimizing the instruction sequencing and multiprocessing. This is why languages like Go popped up (making the advanced programming topic of multiprogramming an entry-level accomplishment) and you now see the 'async' decorator plastered everywhere in C#, and so-on. Keeping the security context intact and separated is a gargantuan task. To me it makes more sense to add "lousy cores" to the die and force the operator to declare the l…
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