Conference heron::euro_swas_ai

330.0. "FWD: VAX is the fastest in space!" by ULYSSE::ROACH (TANSTAAFL !) Mon May 06 1991 11:15

 

                  I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                        Date:     03-May-1991 05:29pm CET
                                        From:     BEANE
                                                  BEANE@BIGRED@MRGATE@DPD03@DPD
                                        Dept:      
                                        Tel No:    

TO: See Below

Subject: FWD: VAX is the fastest in space!

From:	VMSMKT::VMS_PARTNER "VMS Partner Program - 264-3557  02-May-1991 1707"  2-MAY-1991 16:44:36.97
To:	@PARTNER.DST
CC:	VMS_PARTNER
Subj:	VAX In Space

Subj:	VMS and VAX - First BOOT in space!!
Subj:	VMS = Fastest Commercial O/S available (@ 17,483mph!)
Subj:	VMS: The Fasterst Commerically Available Operating System

[Headers Removed....]


                ON-BOARD SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY
                          VAX IN SPACE


    Sunday morning at Mission Elapsed Time 0 days, 4 hours, 
11 minutes, and 55 seconds at 11:45:09 am local time, the first 
VAX in-space, booted VMS.  Controllers at Goddard Space Flight 
Center report that all sensors are nominal and that the 
verification and checkout phase of the mission is proceeding 
normally.

    The computer is a specially-built, militarized VAX 6210 
manufactured by Raytheon Equipment Division.  The boot device is 
a read/write optical disk manufactured by Sundstrand Avionics 
Systems Division.  The system was flight-qualified by the 
Engineering Division of Goddard Space Flight Center.

    Controllers at Goddard Space Flight Center also report, based 
on Discovery's orbital velocity of 17,438 mph, that VMS is now 
the fastest commercially-available operating system.

                             *  *  *









From:	VMSDEV::DINESH "Dinesh Mirchandani, VMS Engineering, Digital.  02-May-1991 1525"  2-MAY-1991 15:54:37.69
To:	@VMSORG
CC:	
Subj:	More on SpaceVAX ...

<fwds deleted>

    NASA and Digital Successfully tested the FASTEST VAX ever!!!
    
    At 17,000 Miles per hour as it orbited around the earth, the prototype
    Raytheon SpaceVAX qualifies as the fastest VAX ever run.  It executed
    standard VMS 5.1 and standard VAX ADA.
    
    Because of a reshuffle of experiment communication time, due to CIRRIS
    coolant problems, our SpaceVAX experiment was allocated 1 hour time the
    night of Apr 29 and then a 20 minute window on Tuesday Apr 30.  For the
    Tuesday experiment (and it will be the last for this mission) we had
    both NASA and DEC folks to observe the experiment and had it vidio
    taped for a press release at the end of the mission.  NASA folks there
    included:

    Dr. James Trainor, Deputy Dir., Goddard Space Flight Center,
    Dr. Don Krueger, Chief, Applied Engineering Division.
    Dr. Danny Dalton, Chief, Flight Data Systems Branch.
    
    The experiment tested standard VMS running on the SpaceVAX, in the total
    vaccum environment of the open shuttle bay.  It was booted and operated
    in a wide temperture range.  Exact data is not available until the post
    mission debrief.  It generated commands based on a Artificial
    Intellignece Program that solved a 3 dimensional space Robot Arm
    Movement problem.  The arm was successfully moved across it's working
    space while avoiding obstacles in the arms path.  The robot arm for the
    experiment was located in the Robotics Lab at Goddard not on the
    shuttle.
    
    The system is configured with 1 VAX cpu, 16 MB memory, 300 MB erasable
    optic disk, SCSI disk controller, 1553A Communication buss, and
    ethernet.  The 1553 and ethernet were not used in the experiment but
    went along for the ride in space.  They will be tested when returned to
    earth.
    
    A very interesting side note is that the system was launched with the Ada
    compiler on the disk.  A variation in the experiment required some
    "tuning".  A source code change developed, compiled, relinked and
    executed on the on orbit VAX!.  This is a true testimony to the fact
    that the SpaceVAX is just as compatible as any other VAX.
    
    The space qualification experiment has been deemed a success!


Distribution:


TO:
DENNIS DICKERSON@DL STEVE DONOVAN@DLO   Tommy Gaut@HSO      Ed Hurry@DVO        
Louis Pau@VBE       jim rather@HSO      Pat Roach@VBE       Czarena Siebert@HSO 
Mike Sievers@HSO    Dale Stout@HSO      Susan Sugar@MWO     Sherry Williams@HSO 
Mike Willis@HSO     Tom Wilson@HST