Apollo Guidance Computer History Project

First conference

July 27, 2001

John Tylko's introduction

JOHN TYLKO: My name is John Tylko, and I grew up during the Apollo program and I watched it very carefully. As I was growing up I was writing letters to the various NASA centers and the contractors, to Grumman, and eventually the instrumentation lab. The yield improved dramatically when I got a hold of a used IBM electric typewriter. They looked more official and so they sent me more stuff, things like flight plans and technical manuals, and things of that sort.

The involvement of MIT and the guidance computer led me to apply to MIT to go to school here, and I ended up getting a degree in aeronautics and astronautics in 1979. Then coming right out of MIT, I actually started a computer company that did video games. Our best known game was Ms. Pacman. I'm still running that company, but I have a very strong interest in the space program.

I actually write about MIT's involvement in the space program for the MIT News office. So whenever there is an MIT experience or a payload, I'm kind of chronicling that. That gets me front row seats at the launches. I've been to many of the shuttle launches. I've been over to Baikonur to see a couple of the Russian launches.

I'm very fascinated with Apollo and a pretty avid, amateur historian of Apollo, not in the league of these, what I would call professionals, but quite fascinated to learn more about it.

Ramon Alonso's introduction

site last updated 12-08-2002 by Alexander Brown