Slice of History: IBM 360 Computer System
Each month in “Slice of History” we feature a historical photo from the JPL Archives. See more historical photos and explore the JPL Archives at https://beacon.jpl.nasa.gov/.
IBM 360 Computer System — Photograph Number P-24197A
The IBM 360 Model 75 computer system was used for more than 10 years in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It was used in tracking, telemetry, command, monitoring and Deep Space Network operations control for NASA’s Mariner, Viking and Voyager missions. There were two identical computers that could run independently or together, and connected to them were three line printers, two typewriters, a punch card reader and 32 cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays. The system’s main memory had a 1 MB capacity and two disks provided 460 MB of additional storage (less than a standard CD). There were also eight attached magnetic tape units, using seven- and nine-track tapes. From left to right, Ron Sharp, Warren Starr, Larry Hughes, Al Balin, and Dr. George Anderson look on as Jackie Jaramillo shuts down the system for the last time in September 1981, when it was replaced with a newer system. Most of the people shown here were part of JPL’s Communications and Computing Network Services Section.
This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL’s Library and Archives Group.
Tags: historical photo, historical photo of the month, IBM 360, jpl, JPL archives, JPL histor, Julie Cooper, nasa, NASA history, nasajpl, science history, slice of history, this day in history
