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By Julian Simioni

In August 1961, the MIT Instrument Laboratory was awarded the contract for a guidance system to fly men to the moon, the first contract for the entire Apollo Program. The word software was not mentioned anywhere. Six years later, 400 engineers were employed on the project writing software.
The resulting Apollo Guidance Computer is to this day a marvel of engineering. It included a realtime operating system and even a software interpreter. Despite weighing 70 pounds, it ran on only 50W of power. Only one guidance computer was present in each Apollo spacecraft, with no backups: it never failed in thousands of hours of space flight. Before the first work on UNIX or the C programming language had begun, the Apollo Guidance Computer had already taken men to the moon.
NASA and MIT kept meticulous records, giving us the opportunity to look back today on some of the pioneers of our industry, relive their experiences, and maybe learn a few things ourselves.

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In the talk "Software Development Lessons from the Apollo Program" presented by Julian Simioni at MountainWest RubyConf 2014, the speaker explores the significant yet underappreciated role of software development in the Apollo Program. Simioni discusses how the Apollo Guidance Computer, developed in the 1960s, contained sophisticated software that was essential for the success of lunar missions.

Key points discussed include:  
- **Historical Context**: The Apollo Guidance Computer was built before fundamental programming technologies like UNIX or the C programming language were developed, yet it achieved incredible feats, such as supporting the first moon landing without any computer failures.  
- **Software Complexity**: Despite its seemingly primitive architecture, the Guidance Computer was a general-purpose machine that executed complex tasks through interleaved programming and prioritized processes, showcasing advanced concepts of computing at the time.  
- **Significant Incidents**: During the Apollo 11 moon landing, the computer signaled a 'Master Error Program Alarm,' but thanks to smart contingency planning and understanding of the system, meaning was maintained, enabling a successful landing.  
- **Testing Approaches**: Engineers highly valued integration testing over unit testing, believing that effective communication among teams was essential for tackling complex commitments on the project.  
- **Team Dynamics**: Simioni contrasts the small, exploratory teams of early Apollo missions with the larger, deadline-driven teams later in the program, emphasizing that both had roles but required different operational approaches.  
- **User Interaction**: Anecdotes regarding astronauts’ reluctance to use automated features highlight the importance of understanding user needs and behavior in software design, which parallels modern user experience challenges.

In conclusion, Simioni emphasizes the importance of thoughtful system design that incorporates user experience, communication, and the ability to handle errors gracefully. The lessons from the Apollo Program remain relevant in today's software development landscape, showcasing how collaboration and structured testing contribute to successful outcomes.

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