The Early U.S. History of Real-Time Telemetry Processing and Display

This article outlines the early U.S. history of real-time telemetry processing and display in the computer era. The requirements for real-time testing and display overwhelmed the computer capabilities in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A number of creative solutions were used to address the problem, both from a technological perspective and from the flight test engineer's (the “user”) perspective. The primary history is the experience at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD, USA. Parallel developments at other test ranges and in the commercial sector are also described.