What Was It Like Orville?
Some Observations on the Early Space Program
by Robert C. Baron
Mr. Baron joined 3C in 1960 and worked there for a decade before leaving to found Prime Computer. The book devotes a few pages to the general-purpose computer business, but is primarily devoted to 3C's involvement in the Mariner and Ranger space probe programs, for which it built on-board instrumentation. The book appears to be out of print, but multiple copies were available via affiliates of abebooks.com as of this writing. Fulcrum Publishing is Mr. Baron's own company, a legitimate small-press publisher with a respectable catalog.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Computer Control Company (1953-1960)
- Dreams of Space (1900-1960)
- Mariner to Venus -- The Mission, Data Collection, Results
- Mariner R Results
- The Early 1960s
- Mariner to Mars -- The Mission, Data Collection, Results
- Mariner C Results
- The Moon and the Ranger Program
- Data Acquisition, Analysis, Simulators, and Other Projects
- The 1960s, 1970s in Space and Historical Comments
- Computer Control Company and its Story
- Bibliography