TRS-80 Model 100 Introduced

By Marcel Brown |

TRS-80 Model 100March 29, 1983

Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Model 100, one of the first portable computers in a notebook-style form factor. The portability, simplicity, and built-in modem of the Model 100 made it very popular with journalists who could write stories in the field and transmit them back to their offices. Incidentally, in the early 90’s I acquired a Model 100 that had been used by a newspaper. I was able to use it to code simple programs, write papers, and use the modem to connect to bulletin board systems of the time. I currently have 2 of these models – still in good working order! Good times, good times.

Posted in Computers

First Flyby of Mercury

By Marcel Brown |

March 29, 1974

Mariner 10 becomes the first spacecraft to flyby the planet Mercury. At a range of 437 miles, Mariner 10 was able to send back the first close up images of Mercury indicating a Moon-like surface of craters and ridges. Until Mariner ran out of fuel and contact terminated about one year later, it made two more flybys of Mercury returning over 2,700 pictures of the innermost planet in our solar system.

Mariner 10 also was famous for many other firsts:

  • The first spacecraft to use the gravity of one planet (Venus) to reach another (Mercury)
  • The first spacecraft to return data on a long-period comet (Kohoutek)
  • The first mission to explore two planets (Mercury and Venus) during a single mission
  • The first spacecraft to use a gravity assist to change its flight path
  • The first spacecraft to return to its target after an initial encounter
  • The first probe to use the solar wind as a major means of spacecraft orientation during flight
Posted in Space Exploration