Reverse engineering circuitry in a Spacelab computer from 1980
12 hours ago
- Spacelab was a reusable laboratory carried in the Space Shuttle's cargo bay, controlled by a French-built Mitra 125 MS minicomputer without a microprocessor.
- The Mitra 125 MS, a militarized 16-bit computer, used TTL logic chips like the 74181 ALU and had a complex 32-bit ALU/register system spread across multiple boards.
- France's Plan Calcul aimed to strengthen its computer industry after US export blocks, but ultimately failed due to American dominance, leading to Spacelab's computers being replaced by IBM AP-101SL models in 1991.