Globus
February 23, 2023 2:14 PM Subscribe
Imagine you're a cosmonaut in space in the early 60s. How do you know where you are above the Earth? You look at the Globus in your control panel. An amazing analog computer/extremely fancy clock. Brief video | Via.
The CuriousMarc YouTube channel did some restoration work on theirs recently.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:42 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:42 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
That is extremely cool, if also very susceptible to human error re: setup.
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:31 PM on February 23, 2023
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:31 PM on February 23, 2023
So gloriously Soviet. Love it!
posted by Thorzdad at 3:43 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 3:43 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
According to the article, the INK (ИНК) started being used in 1967 and was only replaced in 2002 (!)
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:49 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 3:49 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Fascinating and charming.
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:52 PM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:52 PM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ken Shirriff is incredible! He has reverse-engineered the Yamaha DX7 synth, the Apollo flight computer, a bunch of different CPUs, and now this mechanical marvel, which in a way reminds me of the Antikythera mechanism
posted by crazy_yeti at 4:32 PM on February 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by crazy_yeti at 4:32 PM on February 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
I totally want one.
posted by rodlymight at 4:44 PM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by rodlymight at 4:44 PM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Whatever you do, don't look at the Golan.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:22 PM on February 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:22 PM on February 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
My favorite bit is how the cosmonauts didn't find it particularly useful and asked for it to be removed, but it wasn't replaced until 2002. The Globus outlived the Soviet Union by a decade.
posted by phooky at 5:40 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by phooky at 5:40 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Strangely, strangely like the Antikythera mechanism and probably the category at its ultimate zenith.
Whatever you do, don't look at the Golan.
I also felt very strong overtones of sympathetic magic, The Underpants Monster. I’d love to know the professional biographies of the people who designed and built this amazing thing.
posted by jamjam at 8:14 PM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Whatever you do, don't look at the Golan.
I also felt very strong overtones of sympathetic magic, The Underpants Monster. I’d love to know the professional biographies of the people who designed and built this amazing thing.
posted by jamjam at 8:14 PM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
I love electromechanical devices and analog computers. This was delightful to look through!
posted by biogeo at 8:44 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by biogeo at 8:44 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
My favorite bit is how the cosmonauts didn't find it particularly useful and asked for it to be removed, but it wasn't replaced until 2002.
This is particularly ironic because it seems to have been put there for the convenience/benefit of the cosmonauts, who—at least to my understanding—really didn't have the same level of control over their craft that American astronauts had. I don't think they'd really need something like the Globus except in a very extreme emergency.
I was once told by someone who had family friends in the Soviet space program that the Soyuz manual controls were included only so that the cosmonauts would have something to "hold on and pray to" as they were doing an uncontrolled reentry, in the event of a failure of ground control. (But as space-age rosaries go, it's a pretty cool one.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:45 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is particularly ironic because it seems to have been put there for the convenience/benefit of the cosmonauts, who—at least to my understanding—really didn't have the same level of control over their craft that American astronauts had. I don't think they'd really need something like the Globus except in a very extreme emergency.
I was once told by someone who had family friends in the Soviet space program that the Soyuz manual controls were included only so that the cosmonauts would have something to "hold on and pray to" as they were doing an uncontrolled reentry, in the event of a failure of ground control. (But as space-age rosaries go, it's a pretty cool one.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:45 PM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
That's amazing. We marvel at by how many factors of 10 our smartphones are more powerful than the computer systems used for the moon landings (for example) - and at the ingenuity required to build those systems - but here the whole design seems to have been sourced out to team of clockmakers. "You made us an astrolabe some time back, now make us a Globus!". While it is tempting to poke fun at clockwork computers - I would be really interested to know how this device would have performed alongside its American equivalent.
The Wikipedia page on the device indicates that the seating position of the cosmonauts was rotated by 90 degrees clockwise from a logical position for "propaganda purposes" thus making it much harder than it should have been to read the instruments. No proper reference to this cited however.
posted by rongorongo at 10:16 PM on February 23, 2023
The Wikipedia page on the device indicates that the seating position of the cosmonauts was rotated by 90 degrees clockwise from a logical position for "propaganda purposes" thus making it much harder than it should have been to read the instruments. No proper reference to this cited however.
posted by rongorongo at 10:16 PM on February 23, 2023
This is particularly ironic because it seems to have been put there for the convenience/benefit of the cosmonauts, who—at least to my understanding—really didn't have the same level of control over their craft that American astronauts had.
If I’m remembering correctly, when the Apollo/Soyuz program was being planned, it became very clear that the Soyuz was going to have to act as a relatively immobile target, while the Apollo craft would perform all the maneuvering and docking, because of the lack of control the Soyuz crew had over their craft.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:03 AM on February 24, 2023
If I’m remembering correctly, when the Apollo/Soyuz program was being planned, it became very clear that the Soyuz was going to have to act as a relatively immobile target, while the Apollo craft would perform all the maneuvering and docking, because of the lack of control the Soyuz crew had over their craft.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:03 AM on February 24, 2023
I need to figure out how to have as much fun as Ken Shirriff.
posted by kjs3 at 1:14 PM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kjs3 at 1:14 PM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
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