Inside the Shuttle’s I/O Processor: How 1970s Boards Managed 24 Real‑Time Networks
Ken Shirriff dissects two circuit pages from the Space Shuttle's I/O Processor, exposing a 1970s-era multi‑threaded computer that coordinated 24 high‑speed networks. The teardown shows how magnetic‑core microcode storage and a custom network interface enabled redundancy and real‑time control for NASA's most critical flights.