<![CDATA[The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay.]]>The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. Three French-made computers ran Spacelab. I opened up a Spacelab computer and found that instead of a microprocessor, it is built from a multitude of simple chips. Let's take a closer look at the computer...

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/8de017a2-bea5-47d8-acb1-12aa8420d99d/the-space-shuttle-could-hold-a-flying-laboratory-called-spacelab-in-its-cargo-bay.RSS for NodeMon, 25 May 2026 10:56:23 GMTSat, 23 May 2026 16:49:16 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sun, 24 May 2026 12:49:41 GMT]]>@LukefromDC @VoquiLeibbrandt @sandorspruit @kenshirriff landing as a glider isn't a bad option on the amphibious models where you might stand a chance of taking back off again. I always quite liked that idea.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://topspicy.social/users/ShadowInTheVoid/statuses/116629633864115468https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://topspicy.social/users/ShadowInTheVoid/statuses/116629633864115468Sun, 24 May 2026 12:49:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sun, 24 May 2026 08:57:31 GMT]]>@kenshirriff

I love graves 🥰 😍 🤩

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://nrw.social/users/maexchen1/statuses/116628720940095736https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://nrw.social/users/maexchen1/statuses/116628720940095736Sun, 24 May 2026 08:57:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sun, 24 May 2026 07:20:46 GMT]]>@sandorspruit
Yes, I remember reading that shuttle electronics were frozen 1975. with true and proven technology, at that time
@LukefromDC @kenshirriff

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Peter_Panther/statuses/116628340487831380https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Peter_Panther/statuses/116628340487831380Sun, 24 May 2026 07:20:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sun, 24 May 2026 01:30:38 GMT]]>@LukefromDC @kenshirriff SpaceLab started development in the mid 1970s; it was one of the original Shuttle payloads. Designs for spaceflight tend to get frozen early on, so they can be extensively tested before use.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.linux.pizza/users/simonbp/statuses/116626963705505734https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.linux.pizza/users/simonbp/statuses/116626963705505734Sun, 24 May 2026 01:30:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:48 GMT]]>@claralistensprechen3rd Yes, the chips are TTL, specifically 5400-series. But that's hard to see because the part numbers are mostly JM38510 military numbers. And 7714 is a date code (1977 week 14), not a part number.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/kenshirriff/statuses/116626610489061399https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/kenshirriff/statuses/116626610489061399Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 23:54:03 GMT]]>@wikkit This wire looks like it has always been yellow.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/kenshirriff/statuses/116626583962140285https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://oldbytes.space/users/kenshirriff/statuses/116626583962140285Sat, 23 May 2026 23:54:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 22:13:44 GMT]]>@kenshirriff When I read this great thread earlier, something about the name 'Spacelab' began gnawing at my brain. I new there was an earlier orbiting lab when I was a kid, but couldn't for the life of me sort it out. After going about my day, hours later it hit me out of the blue--SKYLAB!!! I knew it sounded the exactly same, but different! 😄

And for anyone not familiar, this is what I'm prattling on about-

Link Preview Image
Skylab - Wikipedia

favicon

(en.wikipedia.org)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/DukeDuke/statuses/116626189497710443https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/DukeDuke/statuses/116626189497710443Sat, 23 May 2026 22:13:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 21:52:53 GMT]]>@kenshirriff @agreeable_landfall Even more amazing is that the transistors are merely miniature switches. Tech Trivia: logic gates originated with banks of relay switches developed by the telephone company.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-276a-1221-b5ba-7f6366701981https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-276a-1221-b5ba-7f6366701981Sat, 23 May 2026 21:52:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 21:45:59 GMT]]>@kenshirriff Do you think it was originally yellow, or white that has aged? I've seen people take "white wire" much more literally than seems necessary.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wikkit/statuses/116626080375611327https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wikkit/statuses/116626080375611327Sat, 23 May 2026 21:45:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 20:57:11 GMT]]>@kenshirriff Finally got to the end of the footnotes. GE only acquired Alstom's energy business, not the rail infrastructure business the company is now best known for, and despite taking that enormous write-off in 2018, the power turbine business that GE acquired is now a big part of the reason GE Vernova, post-breakup, is trading for $1000 a share and nearly 90% of the market cap of GE Aerospace (the old GE) after being spun off on a 1-for-4 basis.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wollman/statuses/116625888491278639https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/wollman/statuses/116625888491278639Sat, 23 May 2026 20:57:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 20:53:46 GMT]]>@bouriquet @kenshirriff Im old enough to remember the days when memory may be carried by a delay line. More fun then to data process.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/VoquiLeibbrandt/statuses/116625875028977036https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/VoquiLeibbrandt/statuses/116625875028977036Sat, 23 May 2026 20:53:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 20:44:53 GMT]]>@LukefromDC @sandorspruit @kenshirriff Wrong : you can do an Apollo13 fixup if you have the guts to do so

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/VoquiLeibbrandt/statuses/116625840091601360https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/VoquiLeibbrandt/statuses/116625840091601360Sat, 23 May 2026 20:44:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 20:44:51 GMT]]>哇，能亲眼看到Spacelab计算机的内部结构真是难得。用那么多简单芯片而不是微处理器来构建整台电脑，那个时代的设计思路还挺特别的。

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116610482379136253/statuses/116625839974041745https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/116610482379136253/statuses/116625839974041745Sat, 23 May 2026 20:44:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 20:05:11 GMT]]>@kenshirriff Compagnie d'informatique militaire spatiale et aéronautique - didn't know about this one (whence it came, what it became)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.sciences.re/users/MonniauxD/statuses/116625683980110315https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.sciences.re/users/MonniauxD/statuses/116625683980110315Sat, 23 May 2026 20:05:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 19:49:19 GMT]]>@kenshirriff I've been studying these old ALU chips, as a way to teach myself about computer hardware design. 170 transistors is an amazing feat of engineering.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/agreeable_landfall/statuses/116625621604748780https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/agreeable_landfall/statuses/116625621604748780Sat, 23 May 2026 19:49:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 19:43:48 GMT]]>@kenshirriff So cool! Thanks for sharing

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Fourshizzle/statuses/116625599953763437https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Fourshizzle/statuses/116625599953763437Sat, 23 May 2026 19:43:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 19:29:35 GMT]]>@kenshirriff I suppose if you make them a lot smaller, they suffer more from radiation.
But now there are laptops on the .

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Photo55/statuses/116625543993360310https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Photo55/statuses/116625543993360310Sat, 23 May 2026 19:29:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 19:23:23 GMT]]>@kenshirriff If you ever heard the term "electronics porn" that's IT ! I am actually drooling over such pictures of that HW 🥰 🥰 😅 😎 "This is how computers should be made" "able to stand a launch in Space" no fancy smancy LEDs on ram modules or fans with coloured spinning blades of funkopops things close to the CPU and the GPU with a logo shown like if it'd be "Armani" 🙄 THIS in the pic is "the HW that makes me dream" 😊 I dream one day to actually build something like this !

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.wales/users/gilesgoat/statuses/116625519629297370https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://toot.wales/users/gilesgoat/statuses/116625519629297370Sat, 23 May 2026 19:23:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 18:48:21 GMT]]>@kenshirriff

I think it is high-level block-diagrams mostly, but I didn't bring the files home, so you'll have to wait until thursday 🙂

One of them was a ~20mm thick description of the overall SpaceLab concept.

There's also a binder which may be ass'y manual.

As far as I can tell from contemporary news reporting, KampSax & CR were responsible for software for ground checkout, "an interpreter" and a "data reduction system.

Train your Danish on: https://danmarkshistorien.ing.dk/titles/ingarkiv/7678/publications/9400/pages/16

(Bottom 3rd col.)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bsdphk/statuses/116625381891895128https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/bsdphk/statuses/116625381891895128Sat, 23 May 2026 18:48:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 18:41:06 GMT]]>@kenshirriff After graduation I had a job where I did some testing on a particular IBM machine that had 4K RAM modules, each about the size of a small toaster with tiny ferrite cores and orthogonal wires inside. That made the Holy Grail seem unattainable.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/bouriquet/statuses/116625353381308814https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/bouriquet/statuses/116625353381308814Sat, 23 May 2026 18:41:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 18:40:30 GMT]]>@kenshirriff TTL? Or...?
I tried blowing up and sharpening that image but I still can't make out the numbers on those chips, alas. I still suspect TTL.
Edited to add that I blew up a different set of your pics with better results, and what threw me is that these are 77 series chips rather than 74 series, but I'm guessing that's because it's special MILspec for those; the 7714 is clearly equivalent to 7414, and none of those are post-LS technology.
Yep--TTL.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-116a-11f4-9ed9-652062311085https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://friendica.myportal.social/objects/e65e1095-116a-11f4-9ed9-652062311085Sat, 23 May 2026 18:40:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 18:30:10 GMT]]>@LukefromDC @kenshirriff You’d expect space tech to be fancy, but I think it takes ages to certify tech for such applications, so it is actually quite old?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.nl/users/sandorspruit/statuses/116625310389027741https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.nl/users/sandorspruit/statuses/116625310389027741Sat, 23 May 2026 18:30:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 18:14:37 GMT]]>@kenshirriff amazing article, thanks. I found in particular very interesting your views about the failure of the Plan calcul.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/davbucci/statuses/116625249217760132https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/davbucci/statuses/116625249217760132Sat, 23 May 2026 18:14:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Space Shuttle could hold a flying laboratory called Spacelab in its cargo bay. on Sat, 23 May 2026 17:52:31 GMT]]>@kenshirriff here we are in ESA's backup operation center watching live video and audio from an ISS spacewalk

Link Preview Image
]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://radiosocial.de/users/hennichodernich/statuses/116625162368081218https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://radiosocial.de/users/hennichodernich/statuses/116625162368081218Sat, 23 May 2026 17:52:31 GMT