[HN Gopher] The Globus INK: a mechanical navigation computer for...
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       The Globus INK: a mechanical navigation computer for Soviet
       spaceflight
        
       Author : dangle1
       Score  : 144 points
       Date   : 2024-10-05 13:16 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.righto.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.righto.com)
        
       | kens wrote:
       | Author here for your mechanical computer questions...
       | 
       | P.S. there are two more parts to the series, going into more
       | details on the Globus, explaining the circuitry and the
       | "algorithms": https://www.righto.com/2023/03/reverse-engineering-
       | electroni... https://www.righto.com/2023/03/reverse-engineering-
       | globus-in...
        
       | philistine wrote:
       | Imagine going to space using gears moving a pin on a globe.
        
         | varjag wrote:
         | Imagine going to space by lighting up rocket engines with giant
         | matches:
         | 
         | https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a19966/russia...
        
       | haunter wrote:
       | CuriousMarc has a 3 part video about restoring one, worth a watch
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmHaCQ8Ul6E
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP5dfjxdkQ4
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG29HrU6Slw
        
       | hintymad wrote:
       | Ha, the similar technology that Eridians used to launch Rocky's
       | blip-A.
        
       | rbanffy wrote:
       | Now we need one on the Apollo 8 ball.
        
         | kens wrote:
         | As soon as someone loans us an FDAI...
        
       | harywilke wrote:
       | Read a very interesting book on the space race from the soviet
       | side. One of the things that stood out was the lack of solid
       | state transistor technology meant that they were using tube
       | transistors in their space craft. This was one of the reasons
       | they had problems doing spacewalks. They couldn't expose the
       | interior of their capsules to space or the electronics would go
       | pop. The Wrong Stuff How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and
       | Burned by John strausbaugh
       | https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/john-strausbaugh/th...
        
         | izacus wrote:
         | The title itself should tell you that the book is there to
         | sensationalize and grind an axe, not to actually provide any
         | historical accuracy.
         | 
         | And yep, the author didn't even bother to use primary sources:
         | https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4851/1
         | 
         | It's like recommending a book about Apollo program written by
         | Russians without reading any US documentation.
         | 
         | If there has to be a western author, James Harford's Korolev
         | biography is a better put together look into Soviet space
         | program and actually has some proper academic reviews.
        
           | kens wrote:
           | I read "Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to
           | Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space" and found it very
           | interesting. It is a detailed history of the early Soviet
           | space program and Yuri Gagarin's flight.
        
         | MrBuddyCasino wrote:
         | Why would a vacuum tube ,,pop" when exposed to vacuum?
        
           | dmix wrote:
           | probably because the vacuum of space is way more extreme than
           | inside the tube which would cause pressure on the seals
        
         | bgnn wrote:
         | that's bullshit. vacuum tubes are used in spacecraft by NASA
         | too. it's likely they are still used. they don't pop in vacuum.
         | plus they're more radiation resistant thwn transistors.
        
       | LetsGetTechnicl wrote:
       | Whether or not its technically inferior to American space
       | technology at the time, you have to admire the ingenuity.
        
       | neuralRiot wrote:
       | I always found mechanical calculators fascinating, here's an
       | article with a video explanation about the MK1 navy fire control
       | computer. https://hackaday.com/2014/10/28/retrotechtacular-fire-
       | contro...
        
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       (page generated 2024-10-05 23:00 UTC)