Auctioneer puts Space Shuttle CPUs under the hammer

erek

[H]F Junkie
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"The systems were one of five pairs in the Space Shuttle Orbiter – four operated in sync and the other used to run backup software.

RR Auctions points out that at the time the units flew, they were the brains of the most technologically advanced spacecraft to ever take flight."

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https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/14/space_shuttle_computer_auction/
 
So it looks like these utilize the System/360 instruction set and are compatible with software written for it. They are marked as complete so I can only assume that means they are still operable. So... that being it wouldn't be a stretch for someone to buy these, write a budget analyzer in COBOL using simh, load it on to these and they could technically say their finances are so complex they have to use literal space exploration technology.
 
RR Auctions points out that at the time the units flew, they were the brains of the most technologically advanced spacecraft to ever take flight."
It also should be pointed at, that at the time the units flew they weren't very technologically advanced, CPUs for spacecraft (or satellites) it's more important to be durable than fast.
 
It also should be pointed at, that at the time the units flew they weren't very technologically advanced, CPUs for spacecraft (or satellites) it's more important to be durable than fast.
This. I think these run at 1.4MHz and have a megabyte of memory. But they sure are cool!
 
This. I think these run at 1.4MHz and have a megabyte of memory. But they sure are cool!
I guess I wonder if the slow speed makes them more or less susceptible to bit flips. I’m not an EE so I have no clue if the mhz even matters.
 
I guess I wonder if the slow speed makes them more or less susceptible to bit flips. I’m not an EE so I have no clue if the mhz even matters.
I was told it was due to the physical size of how close things are put together, which historically goes hand in hand with speed. Stray cosmic rays are less likely to completely nerf a cpu that way. They can be radiation hardened but that apparently gets cost prohibitive

And in the case of the space shuttle it just needs to be fast enough to work, but mine crypto or anything :)
 
It is very expensive and time consuming to properly harden things against radiation, even if you start with a fast chip by the time you're done it'll be slow.
 
Hello, this is 1981, and those triangle shaped guys called, and they want ALL their super-duper, ultra-advanced, not-of-this-world CPU's back...

ps....., I really hope these are the 2 that have the cleverly hidden warp speed-inducing module inside, neatly disguised as a simple, benign-looking .000012nm transistor...:p
 
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