24/08/2025
🛰️ Tech From the Space Race Era – The Soviet "Globus IMP" Navigation Computer 🌍⚙️
Before GPS and digital computers, cosmonauts relied on an incredible piece of engineering called the Globus IMP (Planet Position Indicator).
This device was a mechanical space navigation computer used in the early Vostok, Voskhod, and Soyuz missions. Inside, it contained a small rotating globe of Earth, driven by gears, cams, and motors that simulated the spacecraft’s orbit in real time.
🔹 The globe displayed:
The spacecraft’s path above Earth
Orbit time (about 90 minutes per lap)
Number of completed orbits
Day and night zones
Re-entry angle for landing
Cosmonauts could look through the viewing window and instantly know where they were above the planet – no satellite or computer needed.
This was the same system used by Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space in 1961. It gave astronauts a reliable backup when digital systems were still too bulky and fragile for space.
✨ The Globus IMP is a perfect example of how mechanics, robotics, and cartography merged to solve one of humanity’s greatest challenges: navigating Earth from space.
At Brain Tec Robotics, we love looking back at these engineering marvels that shaped modern innovation. 🚀
