HP Innovation Journal Issue 13: Winter 2019 | Page 66
1965
REMEMBER WHEN
HP AIMS FOR THE MOON
In the Space Race of the 1960s, HP was an important part
of NASA’s successful Apollo program. And keeping stellar
time for the missions, starting with Apollo 8 in 1968, was
HP’s Cesium Beam Frequency Standard atomic clock.
Invented in 1964 by Dr. Leonard Cutler and Alan Bagley,
the clock was designed to maintain accuracy for 3,000
years within only one second of error. It made its debut
during a world tour of all global standards labs coined the
“Flying Clock.” The tour granted the clock a first class seat
and the galley power supply usually reserved for baby
bottle warmers. Its stellar performance during this tour is
what solidified its feasibility beginning with Apollo 8, the
first manned mission to orbit the moon and return.
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HP Innovation Journal Issue 13
The atomic clock was a critical contribution to the space
program as it synchronized all 18 tracking stations and com-
munications systems in NASA’s network, enabling real-time
communication between Houston’s Mission Control and
the Apollo spacecraft. As timekeeper for the Apollo commu-
nications and control systems, Houston Control would have
known almost instantaneously about any navigational prob-
lems during critical maneuvers such as docking and lunar
departure and would have been able to take corrective action.
HP’s atomic clock became the most widely used cesium
beam atomic frequency standard in the world due to its
performance and reliability.
Above, John Haltiwanger and Cal Lidback unload the cesium
beam standard atomic clock at the US Naval Observatory.