Launch Vehicle Digital Computer

<p>The Launch Vehicle Digital Computer (LVDC) was a computer that provided the autopilot for the <a href="/facts/Saturn_V/WhpUEFJM">Saturn V</a> rocket from launch, through Canary Islands <a href="/facts/Orbit_insertion/l8oQMJe4">orbit insertion</a>, and the trans-lunar injection burn that would send the <a href="/facts/Apollo_spacecraft/gv7k516G">Apollo spacecraft</a> to the Moon. Designed and manufactured by <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a>'s Electronics Systems Center in Owego, New York, it was one of the major components of the <a href="/facts/Saturn_V_Instrument_Unit/FfJhlzBf">Instrument Unit</a>, fitted to the <a href="/facts/S-IVB/CaTRQF2a">S-IVB</a> stage of the <a href="/facts/Saturn_V/WhpUEFJM">Saturn V</a> and <a href="/facts/Saturn_IB/gpHk3gcW">Saturn IB</a> rockets. The LVDC also supported pre- and post-launch checkout of the Saturn hardware. It was used in conjunction with the Launch Vehicle Data Adaptor (LVDA) which performed signal conditioning from the sensor inputs to the computer from the launch vehicle.
</p>

Launch Vehicle Digital Computer open-in-new

Launch Vehicle Digital Computer