SAGE, Air Defense, and Interconnected Computer Systems

As a 23 year old 2nd Lieutenant in 1967, I was introduced to the SAGE Computer System. It was probably the second or third luckiest day in my life (and I have been very very lucky!)

SAGE, the Semi Automatic Ground Environment was a series of tube-based computers spaced across the northern US. Dozens of radar sites across the US and Canada sent DIGITIZED images to a SAGE Direction Center using two phone lines from each site with modems operating at the blazing speed of 1200 bits per second.

I learned a lot. I taught a lot. I enjoyed, I CONSUMED, every minute of it. I learned programming, communications, networking architectures, displays, power supplies, and many other technologies. Goodness it was wonderful.

This movie, from IBM, shows some concepts of SAGE. It's kind of fun. This site, from MITRE, is very dry, but factual. This is a great site maintained by SAGE veterans. It has a superb first hand history.

The interesting news is this site that shows how pieces of the SAGE computer, particularly the Long Range Input modules, appeared in many TV shows and movies.

If you want to know everything about air defense, here is a scholarly, but readable and illustrated paper. Finally, a great Website for anyone ever involved in Air Defense is at this link.