The ASC-15 (Advance System Controller Model 15) was a digital computer developed by International Business Machines (IBM) for use on the Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).[1][2] It was subsequently modified and used on the Titan III and Saturn I Block II launch vehicles.
Its principal function on these rockets was to make navigation calculations using data from inertial sensor systems. It also performed readiness checks before launch.[3] It was a digital serial processor using fixed-point data with 27-bit words. The storage was a drum memory. Electronic circuits were soldered encapsulated modules, consisting of discrete resistors, transistors, capacitors, and other components soldered together and encapsulated in a foam material. It was manufactured in the IBM plant at Owego, NY.[4]
- ^ 1958: "IBM develops the ASC-15 guidance computer for the United States Air Force Titan II missile computer. " IBM Archives: Space flight chronology. See also Bilstein 1980, p. 243. See also Olsen & Orrange 1981, p. 406
- ^ Weik 1961
- ^ Larson 1965, p. 7
- ^ Larson 1965, p. 4 See also: Weik 1961, pp. 58–59