Synopsis
Created by the Bell Telephone Laboratories, "A Missile Named Mac" tells the story of how ICBMS are guided towards targets through the miracle of modern electronics. The film was directed by Carl Urbano, animated by Oliver Callahan and Gerard Baldwin, and produced by John Sutherland (who at one time worked for Walt Disney). This animated cartoon is told from the point of a view of a missile ("Mac"), and explains how the guidance system, using radar and ground based computers make course corrections and speed adjustments. Fairly straight forward explanation of how the system works. The film features a missile named Mac who explains the role of Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric Company in guiding ballistic missiles for the government. Mac highlights the challenge of hitting targets at high speeds and introduces his ancestor, Rocky, who required manual aiming and control. The development of basic guidance systems in arrows and rifles is discussed, emphasizing that ballistic missiles need precise calculations for distance and direction after the initial guidance phase. Mac's guidance system includes a ground-based computer and radar to track him, accounting for Earth's rotation and his high speed. The first five minutes of Mac's flight are critical for achieving the right speed and direction, with scientists pre-calculating necessary information fed into the computer. During flight, the computer communicates with Mac via radio signals, guiding and correcting his…
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 8 minutes
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- Stock Footage