From: ncm@nospam.cantrip.org (Nathan Myers)
Subject: WANTED: Project PEAL: Project to Equip Astronauts with Linux
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 16:11:54 GMT

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Recent articles on the International Space Station (ISS) have
mentioned that astronauts will be issued laptop computers running
MSWin95.  Other reports have predicted disastrous trouble with
the station control software, because of poor engineering practices
and unrealistic schedules.

This situation creates a real opportunity for Linux.  While we
(probably) can't help with the main station software, at least
the astronauts can be freed from Win95 crashes.  Imagine the sound
bites: "At least our laptops don't crash all the time."

PEAL is a project to port the applications that the astronauts use
to run under Linux, so each astronaut has a choice of operating
systems.  Many of them will continue using MSWin95, for a time, but
if any astronaut chooses Linux, the others will begin to pick it up,
just as happens on the ground.

For now, I'm just getting set up.  Anyone who wants to take over the
web page, design a project logo, set up a mail reflector, create a 
newsgroup, become group leader, or (almost forgot :-) port software, 
please write.  We need to know what codes the astronauts need ported, 
and where the sources are.  The project web page, for now, is:

  http://www.cantrip.org/peal.html

Watch this space for future announcements about a mail reflector and
calls for porting help.  We can get Linux into continuous use in orbit!

- -- 
Nathan Myers
ncm@nospam.cantrip.org  http://www.cantrip.org/




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