Man Flies ZX Spectrum To The Moon, Sort Of

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Man Flies ZX Spectrum To The Moon, Sort Of

https://retrohandhelds.gg/man-flies-zx-spectrum-to-the-moon-sort-of/

Ever tried landing a lunar module with a relic that predates Windows 95? YouTube star Scott Manley did just that—by putting an original ZX Spectrum in the pilot’s seat of a Kerbal Space Program lander.

The plan is delightfully retro: the Spectrum, equipped with the old‑school Interface 1 serial add‑on (emulated inside Fuse), streams live telemetry from KSP over a 19.2 kbps link. A tiny Python script talks to Kerbal via kRPC, feeds the numbers into a Sinclair BASIC program, and spits out throttle commands back to the virtual rocket.

Sure, the Z80 spends most of its cycles “bit‑banging” the serial port, making it painfully inefficient compared to any modern microcontroller. But that’s the charm—stretching an 8‑bit home computer to control a simulated spacecraft just for the nostalgic thrill.

Why it matters: It proves that even decades‑old hardware can still interface with today’s software ecosystems, opening doors for other vintage rigs (think Commodore 64) to join the space‑age hobby. In short, if you’ve ever dreamed of piloting a moonshot on a machine that once ran “Manic Miner,” now’s your chance—just don’t expect a speedy descent!