Sat, Feb 10, 2018
It's Not Just A Cool Decoration For Your Desk
A couple of entrepreneurs who were not even teenagers when the Apollo 11 mission first placed men on the Moon have launched a Kickstarter campaign to build replicas of the DSKY (Display Keyboard) interface used on every Apollo mission.
On an Apollo spacecraft, the DSKY was centrally mounted on the console giving them easy access to all major functions of the spacecraft. The replica, created by S&T Geotronics, in an open source arduino based replica. Using the same interface as the Nasa Astronauts used on their trips to the Moon and back, you enter a selection of VERBS and NOUNS to command the computer.
MIT custom created for the Astronauts a very simple, straightforward, yet very efficient user interface. S&T Geotronics says they used their creative license to replace some of the programs that do nothing without a Saturn 5 Rocket or a Command Module retro boosters to play sound clips from the era and rocket sound effects. They are producing our units with the utmost attention to detail. Using the same simple Verbs/Nouns command combinations the astronauts used, (and a few of our own) you can:
- Display your GPS coordinates
- Monitor the Distance to Target with Speed and ETA.
- Display the Time
- Look at Gyroscope values and react
- Set various Alarms
- Play various Audio/Music/Sound effect MP3 files
- Set various Count-Up and/or Count-Down Timers
The unit has a lighted keypad and is upgradable via USB.
The company plans to produce only 100 Kickstarter Limited Edition units by hand. These are sold first come first served, and will ship with a numbered & signed Certificate of Authenticity.
The company set an initial goal of 20,000 goal to tool up and produce all units, and has already climbed through their stretch goal of $50,000 pledged by 131 backers.
(Image from Kickstarter page)
More News
Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]
Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]
From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]
Aero Linx: Colorado Pilots Association (CPA) Colorado Pilots Association was incorporated as a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation in 1972. It is a statewide organization with over 700 >[...]
High Speed Taxiway A long radius taxiway designed and provided with lighting or marking to define the path of aircraft, traveling at high speed (up to 60 knots), from the runway ce>[...]
NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23
See All