The evolution of computer monitoring of real time data during the Atlas Centaur launch countdown

In the last decade, improvements in computer technology have provided new 'tools' for controlling and monitoring critical missile systems. In this connection, computers have gradually taken a large role in monitoring all flights and ground systems on the Atlas Centaur. The wide body Centaur which will be launched in the Space Shuttle Cargo Bay will use computers to an even greater extent. It is planned to use the wide body Centaur to boost the Galileo spacecraft toward Jupiter in 1985. The critical systems which must be monitored prior to liftoff are examined. Computers have now been programmed to monitor all critical parameters continuously. At this time, there are two separate computer systems used to monitor these parameters.