Jul 26 1976
From The Space Library
Johnson Space Center announced delivery and acceptance of the Sperry Rand computer system, Univac 110/46, that would drive the Shuttle mission simulators. Dr. Bruce B. Johnson, technical manager of the contract, said that JSC had tested the computer complex round the clock for 30 days before its acceptance, and that the complex had demonstrated reliability "far in excess of contractual requirements." Completed 3 wk ahead of schedule, the Univac 1100/46 contained 10 processors, making it one of the most powerful digital computers built to date, with 900 000 36-bit words in the main memory and 2 billion characters in mass storage capacity. The computer would simulate a wide range of mission situations-prelaunch, ascent, aborts, orbit rendezvous and docking, entry, and landing-in the process of training flight crews and ground personnel in all phases of the Shuttle program. Total cost of the computer complex was $7 934 876. (JSC Release 76-47)
The U.S. Air Force announced production of a new material with electrical properties suitable for solid-state laser applications: anisotropic yttrium aluminate doped with neodymium (Nd:YA103), a substance difficult to make into high-quality single crystals. The new material would replace neodymium YAG in solid-state lasers because it loses less heat than conventional lasing materials, requires no external component to polarize the laser light, and stores more energy for electro-optical switched-laser operations. The USAF sponsored the research at a pilot plant of Lambda Airtron Division of Litton at Morris Plains, N.J. which produced 40 rods of the new material; the longest, about 100 mm long, was valued at $4000. The high cost resulted from the cost of the raw materials and the iridium crucibles used in production, as well as the large amounts of power needed. The Air Force Materials Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, 0., would lend the tested rods to qualified government agencies and contractors. (AFSC Release OIP 118.76)
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