Reverse engineering circuitry in a Spacelab computer from 1980
The article discusses the reverse engineering of the Mitra 125 MS computer used in Spacelab, a reusable laboratory carried by the Space Shuttle. This computer, built from multiple boards of chips, was essential for controlling experiments in the lab. The Mitra 125 MS was a militarized version of the Mitra 125, which improved upon its predecessor with enhanced capabilities for real-time computing.
- ▪Spacelab was controlled by the Mitra 125 MS, a French-built minicomputer.
- ▪The Mitra 125 MS did not use a microprocessor chip but was constructed from several boards of chips.
- ▪The computer was part of Spacelab's Command and Data Management Subsystem, which managed experiments and data collection.
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| Original publisher | Righto |
| Canonical URL | https://www.righto.com/2026/05/reverse-engineering-spacelab-computer.html |
| Publication time | Sat, 23 May 2026 16:24:50 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-23T16:37:27.528Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-23T16:37:27.528Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | QVr5GX1276Rq |
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| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory that could be carried in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle, providing lab space for astronauts and experiments. Spacelab was controlled by a French-built minicomputer, called the Mitra 125 MS. Unlike modern computers, this computer didn't contain a microprocessor chip. Instead, its 16-bit processor was constructed from several boards of chips. In this article, I reverse-engineer one of the processor boards, shown below, part of the computer's Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU). The Mitra 125 MS computer, built by CIMSA, with one of the ALU/register cards shown. Spacelab consisted of a pressurized cylindrical laboratory that held experiments, computers, and work areas for researchers.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Righto.
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