IBM 7090

    A transistorised version of the IBM 709 which was
   a very popular high end computer in the early 1960s.  The 7090
   had 32Kbytes of 36-bit core memory and a hardware floating
   point unit.  Fortran was its most popular language, but it
   supported many others.  It was later upgraded to the IBM
   7094, and a scaled down version, the IBM 7040 was also
   introduced.

   IBM 7090s controlled the Mercury and Gemini space flights, the
   Balistic Missile Early Warning System (until well into the
   1980s), and the CTSS time sharing system at MIT.

   The 7090 was not good at unit record I/O, so in small
   configurations an IBM 1401 was used for SPOOL I/O and in
   large configurations (such as a 7090/94) a 7040/44 would be
   directly coupled and dedicated to handling printers and card
   readers.  (See the film Dr Strangelove).

   (1999-01-19)