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Monday, July 16, 2007

The Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle onboard computers run on only 1/8 of the computer power that modern word-processing programs, like WordPerfect or Microsoft Word, use.
More powerful computers might help the astronauts as they work in the shuttle, but because they rely on their computers for mission-critical -- and life-critical -- tasks, like keeping the oxygen flowing inside the shuttle, and plotting the right course back to the surface of the Earth, the onboard computers need to undergo testing for reliability that sometimes takes years.
The more powerful computer parts that we use on our desks haven't been around long enough yet to have been proven absolutely, utterly, totally reliable -- and so older, less powerful, but thoroughly tested technology continues to make the trip into space with the shuttle.

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