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Reverse-engineering the Globus INK, a Soviet spaceflight navigation computer (2023)
One of the most interesting navigation instruments onboard Soyuz spacecraft was the Globus INK, 1 which used a rotating globe to indicate...
The orbital motion is powered by a solenoid at the top of the Globus that receives pulses once a second and advances a ratchet wheel ( video). Even though the path around the globe is a straight (circular) line, the orbit appears roughly sinusoidal when projected onto the map. The Globus INK is a remarkable piece of machinery, an analog computer that calculates orbits through an intricate system of gears, cams, and differentials.
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