In 2006, it was revealed that NASA had lost some 173 first-generation magnet tapes containing unseen data from the Apollo moon missions. One set of tapes was revealed to be in Australia, by 74-year-old Perth consulting physicist, Brian O’Brien. Dr. O’Brien worked for Houston’s Rice University as a space scientist where he designed a tiny dust detector for the missions, hence his possession.
Upon hearing of the situation, a Perth-based data expert Guy Holmes (pictured on the left in the title shot), chief executive of SpectrumData offered his assistance to O’Brien in safely storing the tapes. He then went one step further and set about finding a way to actually view the data that was on them, a task which requires a 1960’s era IBM729 Mark 5; with exactly zero known working models in existence, it is a rare piece of equipment indeed.
Holmes managed to source a non-working Mark 5 from the Australian Computer Museum, a little known uber-nerd Mecca in Sydney. From there, he set about restoring the machine, which is a world-removed from PCs of today. According to Holmes:
It uses fan belts - we’re looking for a 1972 Toyota Corolla - and other parts need to be replaced. We’ll probably be ready to plug it into the wall in January.
If he produces the only working IBM729 Mark 5 in existence, he will have performed a work of MacGyver magic that even NASA has not managed. The tapes were symbolically handed to the US Consul General for Australia last year, but remained in Perth because NASA did not have a machine capable of reading the tapes. [The Australian]
For the latest info on the coolest gadgets, emerging technology and wired madness, subscribe to our full news feed or have it delivered to your inbox. Always free. Always unique. Thanks for visiting!
Tags: Computers, macgyver, NASA, Science, space
0 responses
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment