Artifact Details

Title

SAGE: Computer-based air defense, 1958-1982

Catalog Number

102695337

Type

Moving Image

Description

In 1963, the last of 22 SAGE command centers was completed by contractors IBM, Western Electric, The RAND Corporation, and Burroughs. At a cost of $8 billion (1964 dollars), this vastly complex technological system, an outgrowth of MIT Lincoln Labs' Whirlwind II computer, represented the state of the art in strategic doctrine and computer systems design. Each one of the 22 SAGE command centers used over 49,000 vacuum tubes, weighed 250 tons, and consumed 3,000,000 watts of power.

The SAGE system linked these command centers into a technopolitical "shield" against Soviet strategic bomber attack. From a stark social context of high Cold War tensions emerged impressive technical advances in hardware and software systems design, real-time control, and air traffic monitoring.

Advances such as the light gun, modems, duplex CPUs, multiprocessing, A/D and D/A conversion techniques, as well as networking arose as ancillary technologies of SAGE development. But did SAGE really work as advertised? Should we care? This lecture reflects on these questions, SAGE's context, and its technical spinoffs.

The lecture takes place in front of 400 square feet of actual SAGE hardware, including Weapons Director and Intercept Technician consoles! This equipment is from the last functioning SAGE center in North Bay, Ontario(Canada), decommissioned in 1982. The USAF SAGE Film "In Your Defense" will also be shown. "I like Ike" buttons optional.

Date

1998-05-19

Credits

Edwards, Paul

Participants

Earnest, Les, Speaker
Edwards, Paul, Speaker
Wong, James, Speaker

Publisher

Sun Microsystems

Place of Publication

Mountain View, California

Identifying Numbers

Other number 98-0268

Duration

01:41:37

Format

DVCAM

Copyright Holder

Sun Microsystems

Category

Lecture

Series Title

Bay Area Computer History Perspectives

Lot Number

X4818.2009