TAMPA (FOX 13) - Interested in owning a piece of space history? A flight control computer used for steering the Apollo rocket that took astronauts to the moon is for sale!
The massive computer was built in St. Petersburg in the 1950s and measures approximately 24' x 18' x 18'... yet it has less computing power than a modern smartphone. The unit weighs close to 100 pounds.
Its purpose on the Apollo missions was to receive attitude error signals from the Launch Vehicle Digital Computer and flight dynamic measurements from the on-board accelerometers and rate gyros. The computer then generated output commands to steer the launch vehicle during flight.
Essentially, this was the computer responsible for keeping the Saturn V pointed in the right direction - obviously a critical aspect of any mission.
Bidding for the rare computer runs from April 14 - 21 on RRAuction.com.
